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LACROSSE. 






NATIONAL GAME OF CANADA: 



BY W. G. BEEliS, 

Secretary of thk National LACKossb; Association of Canada. 



PUBLISHED WITH THE SANCTION OF THE NATIONAL LACROSSE ASSOCIATION 
OF CANADA. 




NEW YORK: 
W, A. TOWNSEND & ADAMS. 

1869. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by 
W. A. TowNSEND & Adams, in the Clerk's Office of the District 
Court for the Southern District of New York. 



CONTENTS. 



PREFACE V 

CHAP. I. THE ORIGIN OF LACROSSE.... 1 

CHAP. II. THE ORIGINAL GAME 7 

CHAP. III. GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE PRESENT GAME 32 

SCIENCE AND DEVELOPMENT 61 

THE NATIONAL GAME OF CANADA 57 

CHAP. IV. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE 60 

CHAP. V. MATERIALS FOR PLAY; THE CROSSE, &C. — RUNNING, 

TRAINING , 76 

CHAP. VI. POSTING AND DIRECTING THE PLAYERS 90 

CHAP. VII. FACING 97 

CHAP. VIII. THROWING THE BALL 106 

CHAP. IX. CATCHING AND CARRYING THE BALL 134 

CHAP. X. DODGING AND CHECKING 146 

CHAP. XI. PICKING UP, TIPPING, FRISKING, &C 180 

CHAP. XII. FIELDING 189 

CHAP. XIII. GOAL-KEEPING 212 

APPENDIX — THE LAWS OF LACROSSE 251 



KEY TO THE PHOTOGRAPHS. 



C N. H. Hughes, . . . 

(L. Gushing, Jr 

..E. Cluff, 

. .W. Macfarlane . . 

..W.D. Otter, 

..W.L.Maltby 

. . J. R. Middlemiss, ■ 
( J. B. Hutchison, . 
( Alex. M. Davidson 
( S. R. MacDonald, 

( R. Tate, 

C E. A. Whitehead, • 

^T. Ralston, 

C J. Watson, 

( F. Dowd, 

. .A. G-rant, 

i S. Stephenson, • ■ • 
(W.G. Beers, 



Montreal. 

Montreal. 

Ottawa. . . 

Chebucto . 

Toronto • 

Montreal 

Montreal. 

Crescent.. 

Crescent . 

Montreal. 

Montreal. 

Montreal. 

St. John . 

Montreal. 

Montreal. 

Montreal. 

Dominion. 

Montreal. 



Locality. 



Montreal 

Montreal. 

Ottawa. . 

Halifax . 

Toronto 

Montreal 

Montreal 

Montreal 

Montreal 

Montreal 

Montreal 

Montreal 

St. John, 

Montreal 

Montreal 

Montreal 

Montreal 

Montreal 



N.B. 



Representation. 



' Facing. 



. Picking up. 
. Catching. 

• Flat-catch. 

• Long-throw. 

> Checking. 

Checking. 

I Dodging and 
) Checking. 

> Ditto. 

. Throwing. 
) Throwing and 
I Goal-keeping. 



PREFACE. 



The following pages are designed to extend a 
knowledge of the game of Lacrosse, to systematize 
its principles and practice, and to perpetuate it a& 
the National game of Canada. Until the appearance 
of my brochure^ published in 1860, there had never 
been any attempt made to- reduce the game to rule. 
It was barren of laws, and goal-keeper was the only 
player with a definite name and position. 

I feel in duty bound to own to the parentage, 
while apologizing for the publication of the little book 
referred -to, which was issued, without any revision, 
during my absence from the city. Notwithstanding 
the fact that it was extensively plagiarized, I trust it 



VI PREFACE. 

will be regarded, by any who had the misfortune to 
buy it, as one of those productions of youth, which, 
in maturity, we would fain disown. 

The difficulty of writing practically about La- 
crosse, was then, as it is now, that there had never 
been anything practical written on the subject. 
Every principle and point of play had to be laid 
down from personal experience and experiments, 
and "pow-wows" with the best players; and, at first 
blush, it seemed a difficult task to write anything 
about the game. Moore, in his Diary, however, 
mentions a German savant who wrote several folio 
volumes on the "Digestion of a Flea!" After 
that accomplishment, no one should despair of 
producing at least one volume on any subject. 

It may seem to some, well acquainted with La- 
crosse, as if I had given too much space to the 
rudiments of the game ; but I intend this book for 
the novice as well as the expert, and wish even the 
latter to believe with me, that there is a gradation of 
learning in the use of the crosse, as there is with the 



PREFACE. Vll 

rifle or the cricket bat. We may wish for the 
hereditary sagacity of the Indian, who plays mainly 
by instinct ; as poor Tom, in the "Mill on the Floss," 
envied the people who once were on the earth, 
fortunate in knowing Latin without having learnt 
it through the Eton grammar ; but the Indian never 
can play as scientifically as the best white players, 
and it is a lamentable fact, that Lacrosse, and the 
wind for running, which comes as natural to the 
red-skin as his dialect, has to be gained on the part 
of the pale- face, by a gradual course of practice and 
training. All Indians are not good players, but I 
never yet knew one without an aptitude for the 
game ; and it is surprising to witness the expertness 
of the juveniles, not yet in their teens, in the villages 
of Caughnawaga, St. Regis, Oka, and Onondaga. 

I have not attempted, in this work, to exhaust the 
practical feats of Lacrosse, though I have given all . 
the various methods of throwing, checking, &c., in 
use among Clubs, as well as some original feats, and 
others derived from the Indians, never introduced 



Vlll PREFACE. 

among the whites. Some may seem impracticable, 
and at first, no doubt, will be found to be so, but 
I simply ask for them a fair trial. There is no 
reason why an Indian feat may not be done by a 
white plajer. 

I am indebted, for many kind acts of co-operation^ 
to Messrs. J. R. Middlemiss, W. L. Maltby and 
L. Gushing, of Montreal ; G. H. Leslie, of Toronto ; 
E. Cluff, of Ottawa ; Dr. Allen, of Cornwall ; J. 
B. Morrison, of Caughnawaga, and other friends 
too numerous to mention. Also, to the gentle- 
men whose photographs represent the various 
positions in the game, and to the " National 
Lacrosse Association of Canada " for the vote 
approving of this undertaking. For many of 
the facts contained in the chapter on " Historical 
Associations of Lacrosse," I am much indebted to 
Mr. Parkman's work, " The Conspiracy of Pontiac.'^ 
As I have been requested, since the body of this 
work was written, to give some account of the rise 
and progress of Lacrosse, I purpose briefly doing so 



PREFACE. IX 

here. The game first met with popularity in Mon- 
treal about thirteen years ago, when the Iroquois 
Indians of Caughnawaga introduced it as a field 
sport. The origin and early existence, thirty 
years ago, of the regularly organized Montreal 
Club — the Alma Mater of the game — and its 
several matches with the red-skins, only one of 
which it won, may make an interesting chapter 
in the history of Lacrosse at some future day. 
Among the original members of the Club, alive 
to-day, are Mr. N. H. Hughes, still President ; 
Judge Coursol, Messrs. Romeo Stephens, and 
Wm. Lamothe, of Montreal ; and Mr. Gouin, 
Prothonotary, at Sorel. Mr. Lamontagne was 
one of the crack-players of the early time ; 
and our big friend, '• Baptiste," the pilot of 
the Lachine Rapids, was then as great a master- 
of the crosse as he is now of. the helm. I 
shall be much indebted for information furnished 
me respecting the early matches and life of the 
Montreal Club. 



X PREFACE. 

The Montreal Club did not flourish in its early 
history. For a long time it was dormant, and 
practice was limited to a very small number. About 
twelve years ago the Club revived, and was followed 
Iby the " Hochelaga." On the 31st of March, 1860, 
the two Clubs were united, under the name of " The 
Lacrosse Club of Montreal." About this time the 
spirited young " Beaver " disputed the champion- 
ship and the propriety of the definite article " The," 
assumed by the Montreal Club, and invariably 
succeeded in making drawn matches. On the 31st 
of March of the following year the name of the Club 
was changed again to " Montreal." 

The visit of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales to 
Canada, in 1861, and a proposal to play before him, 
infused new life into the ancient Indian sport, and a 
grand match was played in the presence of H. R. H. 
by the "Montreal" and "Beaver" vs. Caughna- 
waga and St. Regis Indians, twenty-five players a 
side. The playing on both sides was determined and 
excited, and ended in a dispute, — Baptiste, of 



PREFACE. 



XI 



Caughnawaga, the Indian Captain, having picked 
up and held the ball with his hand, at a moment 
when the whites had a clear chance of carrying 
it into the Indian goal. The match was awarded 
to the whites. The following are the names of 
the white players in this ever-memorable match: 

Captain — N. H. Hughes. 

1. GeopvGe Kernick. 14. J. McCulloch. 

2. P. Christie. 

3. R. Gray. 

4. A. Cherrier. 

5. T. Coffin. 

6. F. DowD. 

7. W. Browin^. 

8. A. Brown. 

9. J. Bell. 

10. J. Bruneau. 

11. W. Leduc. 

12. W. Blakely. 

13. T. Taylor. 



15. W. A. Stafford. 

16. J. R. Middlemiss. 

17. J. McLennen. 

18. W. McLennen. 

19. J. Becket. 

20. H. Duclos. 

21. W. Masse Y. 

22. T. Craig. 

23. C. P. Davidson. 

24. W. NoAD. ] ^^^,. 

25. W. G. Beers, j ^^^^^>^^- 



After this match the '' Montreal," '^ Beaver " and 
^' Young Montreal " Clubs, tried to arouse an interest 



Xll PREFACE. 

in the game, but the season soon closed, the Clubs 
were disorganized,'and Lacrosse became unfashionable. 
In the meantime, Mr. George Massey, ("Beaver,") 
and Mr. W. A. Stafford, (" Montreal,") formed the 
nucleus of a Club in Ottawa, which flourished under 
the management of Mr. E. Cluff, when the game was 
dormant in Montreal. A match at Cornwall, Ont.^ 
between the organized Ottawa Club and some of the 
old members of the "Montreal" and "Beaver," 
who had never played together before, and most of 
whom had not handled the crosse for years, ended in 
the defeat of the Montrealers, — not the Montreal 
" Club." The spirit of young Montreal awoke. 
Lacrosse was revived, and the lost laurels brought 
back again. The game began to grow East and 
West. In June, 1867, the IMontreal Club framed 
the first laws of Lacrosse; and, in September of 
the same year, called a Convention of Clubs in 
Canada, to organize an Association for the guidance 
of Clubs and the government of the game, — an idea 
which had been discussed in Committee meeting the 



PREFACE. XUl 

previous year. The Convention met in Kingston on 
the 26th of September, organized the " National 
Lacrosse Association of Canada," amended the laws 
of the game, and adopted a Constitution. The popu- 
larity of Lacrosse now steadily increased, and Clubs 
sprang up all over the country. The Association 
met again, in Montreal, in September, (1868,) and 
made important amendments to its Constitution and 
the laws of the game. 

In the spring of 1867, Mr. J. Weir, a member 
of the Montreal Club, organized a Club in Glasgow, 
Scotland. 

la July, 1867, Mr. W. B. Johnson, of Montreal, 
tt)ok eighteen Caughnawaga Indians to England and 
France, and played several exhibition games. This 
seems to have given the impetus to Lacrosse in 
England. A number of Clubs were formed in 
London, and an Association organized similar to the 
^Canadian Association. 

The Mohawk Club, of Troy, N.Y., pioneered the 
game in the United States ; and the " Maple Leaf," 



XIV PREFACE. 

of Buffalo, and others, followed their lead ; and 
there is every indication that our Clubs in Canada 
will one day find worthy rivals over the lines, and 
cross the crosse in friendly contest. 

I have much pleasure in chronicling the generosity 
and public spirit of Mr. T. J. Claxton, a Montreal 
merchant, in the donation to the " Montreal," for 
competition among the city Clubs, of a set of four 
magnificent flags and flag-poles, costing over $250,. 
two of which are represented in photograph No. 12. 
This gift not only illustrates the generosity of an 
individual, but the appreciation of the mercantile 
community, of the efforts of the Montreal Club to 
popularize and spread the game of Lacrosse. A 
healthy sign, too, of the growing favor of rational 
sports. 

I have but little to add in conclusion, and may be 
pardoned for making that little personal. The 
practice of Lacrosse was my physical recreation ; the 
writing of this book was one of my mental diversions, 
principally the result of notes made on the field. 



PREFACE. XY 

It would never be allowed to see the light of day,, 
did I think it would get me the reputation of being 
absorbed in the sport, to the exclusion of more 
serious and important duties. When I commenced 
the book I felt its completion would tend to much 
good, physically, mentally and morally, and assist 
the cause of rational recreation among the young 
men of Canada. The popularity of the game has 
popularized all healthy sports ; and nothing, per- 
haps, has won more esteem for Lacrosse than 
its moral tendencies, and the necessity it involves 
of abstaining from habits, which are too often 
associated with other recreations. 

One of our most eloquent statesmen, in addressing 
an audience outside of Canada, said, in referring to 
the physical outfit of the new Dominion, " Young 
Canada would as soon fight as eat his breakfast." 
While not advocating pugnacity, men — and women, 
too — admire manly youth; and if our National 
game, while exercising the manly virtues, also 
trains the national and the moral, it will, un- 



XVI PREFACE. 

doubtedly, help to make us better men ; and 
genuine "pluck" will never go out of fashion in 
Canada. 



CHAPTER I. 



ORIGIN OF THE GAME OF LACROSSE. 

The origin of Lacrosse, like that of the Indian race 
from whom we derived it, is lost in the obscurity 
which surrounds the early history of this people ; 
but that it had its first existence in his wild brain is 
claimed in his own traditions, and entitled to every 
belief. The subject, however, is a mystery, and the 
most patient research cannot but meet with bewilder- 
ment. Indian traditions concerning it are scarce 
and unreliable, while anything that might be learned 
from their hieroglyphics is met by the fact that they 
could not transmit more than outward events. 
Doubtless there were rude Pindars and Homers in 
the "forest primeval" who could have saved their 
early records from oblivion, had there been means to 
preserve them ; but as it is, the more we try to 

unravel such mysteries as the origin of the Indian 

B 



2 OBIGIN OF LACROSSE. 

and many of his customs and recreations, the deeper 
we get into diflSculties that have no solution. 

The origin of Cricket, in enlightened Europe, is 
uncertain, though traced to the 13th century. How 
much more difficult to discover the origin of Lacrosse 
in a savage country, unknown till the century after. 
If obscurity be any proof of antiquity. Lacrosse is 
certainly senior among field games. 

Spanish cruelty sullied the great discovery of 
America, and made " pale-face" a synonym for 
everything base and unjust ; and French and English 
conduct afterwards, confirmed the justice of the 
complaint. Under the circumstances, it was to be 
expected that they would each have more familiarity 
with Indian warfare than Indian recreation ; and 
this may account for the comparative silence of 
American history on their native Sports. It was not 
until a conciliatory policy was adopted, that such 
sports as Lacrosse were played for the amusement of 
the whites. 

Civilization has not destroyed the Indian's love of 
hoaxing. Charlevoix, Catlin, and a host of others, 
were unmercifully hoodwinked and humbugged, and 
one need not travel far to-day to meet with the same 



ORIGIN OF LACROSSE. 8 

characteristic. A genuine hoax is as old '' fire- 
water" to a red man : it is told to clusters of 
admirers, and repeated from wigwam to wigwam. 
While endeavouring to find out the opinion of 
intelligent Indians as to the origin of Lacrosse, we 
had some charming and plausible legends invented 
for us impromptu^ and the difficulty of centuries 
expeditiously unravelled in the rocky recesses of 
Caughnawaga. If the soil of that settlement is not 
favorable for peaches, it unquestionably produces a 
spontaneous imaginative genius, not to be rivalled by 
anythmg white or red in Canada. We are satisfied, 
however, that the Indians of Canada know nothing 
whatever about the origin of their native field game. 
I had the good fortune to travel on the Grand 
Trunk, side by side with the late Hon. Thos. D'Arcy 
McGee, about a year before his cowardly assassina- 
tion by the *^' Fenian Brotherhood." The subject of 
conversation turned upon Lacrosse, prompted by the 
sight of a Crosse on the rack overhead ; and Mr. 
McGee first suggested to my mind the resemblance 
between the national game of Canada and the Irish 
game of Coman, or trundling. Some time after, a 
communication appeared in a Port Hope paper, by a 



4 ORIGIN OF LACROSSE. 

writer holding the identity of origin of the Indian 
and Irish races with the Phoenicians, and ingeniously 
attempting to show sulB&cient resemblance between 
Lacrosse and Coman to make a plausible argument 
for his theory. The former part of the proposition 
involves scientific questions hardly within my province 
to discuss, but it seems rather far-fetched. If this 
ethnological view be correct, it would scarcely seem 
possible that the game of Lacrosse should now be 
almost the only prominent remnant of the Phoenician 
origin of the Indian race. Were I inclined like 
the Irishman who traced his genealogy into the Ark, 
and the locality of Paradise to his potato patch, 
which he was irreverently ofiering for sale, I might 
enter into archaeological researches, and build up 
theories from hypothesis ; but this would only lead 
astray. 

It is quite possible that there should be resemblances 
between Lacrosse and Coman, as between any game 
of ball played with a bat. In '^ Strutt's Sports and 
Pastimes" may be read some very close coincidences, 
but nothing to prove their identity. The writer 
aforesaid hinges his conclusions greatly upon the 
pres3nt resemblance between the sticks used in both 



ORIGIN OF LACROSSE. 5 

games ; but the original crosse was not the present 
shape, and had no more resemblance to a trundling 
bat than a cross-bow has to a " Snider." With the 
original game, too, was associated peculiar customs 
and ceremonies which distinguished it from any other 
field sport. Its uniqueness was and is beyond dispute. 

The Indians may justly be awarded the credit of 
having invented the game of Lacrosse, as well as the 
snow-shoe, toboggan, and bark canoe ; and unless 
some archaeologist can prove that it was played by 
the extinct races of a cultivated and superior type of 
humanity said to have existed on this continent long 
before the advent of the Spaniards, it is only fair that 
they should have the honor. 

An Algonquin who was asked the origin of his 
race pointed to the rising sun. So may we as 
indefinitely answer the query, '' When and how did 
the game of Lacrosse originate ?" 

Originally, it bore different names ; each tribe 
calling it "ball" in their own peculiar dialect. By 
the Iroquois it was called '' TehontshikSaheks ;" by 
the Algonquins '' Teiontsesiksaheks ;" by the Objiways 
"Baggataway." The crosse Avas called '^ Teionstik- 
wahektawa" by the Iroquois ; " Te88aa Naton" by 



6 ORIGIN OF LACROSSE, 

the Algonquins ; and by other tribes, names as 
euphonious and intelligible, sometimes as long as the 
stick itself. The single tree or pole goal was called 
'' lorhenoketo-ohikta" by the Iroquois. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE ORIGINAL GAME. 



In the early history of all countries we find their 
recreations to have been of a rude and barbarous 
nature. Such were those of Greece when Homer 
wrote ; such were those of Britain when Caesar 
landed; and such were the amusements of the 
North American Indians when first witnessed by 
the early French and English travellers. 

The character of the game of Lacrosse, as originally 
played, made it midway between a sport and a deadly 
combat, because of its serious results to limb and life. 
It was a game which King James would, no doubt, 
have anathematized as being " meeter for laming than 
making able the users thereof; " and more emphatic 
would have been this edict had he played it ; for not 
even the divinity that hedges kings would have saved 
his royal shins from many a sore and unceremonious 
whack. 



8 THE ORIGINAL GAME. 

Never was there ancient or modern field sport 
that so effectually tried the endurance and agility, 
and every physical instinct as the original game of 
Lacrosse. The gladiatorial games of the Romans, 
a;ad the bull fights of Spain, were severe tests of 
stamina and skill ; but neither the praises of Cicero 
nor the approval of Pliny can prevent the banish- 
ment of amusements deliberately designed for the 
shedding of blood, and the death of, at least, one of 
the combatants. 

It may not be possible for one who has never 
handled a Crosse — even though he has witnessed 
many of the exciting matches of the present day, to 
conceive of the intensity and vehemence of the old 
game ; but to a player who has tried his mettle 
against Indian wind and endurance, and experienced 
the exertion required in the present modified game, 
it is easier to estimate correctly the magnificent 
physical condition of the aborigine a century ago, 
and the unparalleled union of strength, agility and 
wind developed by, and necessary for, the primitive 
Lacrosse. It was not played as a superstitious rite 
in honor of the Great Spirit ; it had none of the 
religious element of the Grecian games. It was 



THE ORIGINAL GAME. 9 

instituted as a pure amusement, and as one of the 
means of quickening and strengthening the body, and 
accustoming the young warriors to close combat. It 
was emphatically a sport, and brought out the very 
finest physical attributes of the finest made men 
in the world, — the impetuosity and vigor of a wild 
nature let loose ; and compelled its votaries, in its 
intense exercise, to stretch every power to the 
greatest extreme. 

The hunters and warriors looked and longed for 
the grand anniversaries, when through dense forests, 
and in bark canoes, hundreds would return from the 
chase and the war-path to be present at the Lacrosse 
tournaments. Among some tribes, ball-play was, as 
Basil Hall tells us, " the chief object of their lives," 
so absorbed were they in its excitement ; and in 
every tribe it developed an amount of splendid 
physical energy sufiicient to have made their race 
masters of this continent for ever, had mind not been 
so entirely subservient to body, nor destiny so inevit- 
ably pointed against them. 

All the education of an Indian from the cradle to 
manhood tended to physical development and inure- 
ment ; and however much we may pity the strapped 



10 THE ORIGINAL GAME. 

papoose, it is in a better place for a symmetrical 
body and a straight spine, than the pale-face hopeful, 
rocked and knocked about in the modern cradle, or 
the Spartan child cradled on a shield. It was the 
perfection of the Indian's physical nature which 
made his conquest so difficult. With every instinct 
keen as an eagle's eye, with every muscle, nerve 
and fibre strung to its perfect capacity ; with his 
wonderful vitality, energy and unity, he was more 
than a match for the white man and superior weapons, 
until " firewater " undermined his manliness, and 
treachery stole away his advantages. Whiskey was 
a cunning ambassador, more effectual than " villainous 
saltpetre." What was the stoicism of the Indian but 
his physical training ; what was his pride and individu- 
ality but the blood of his race and the education of his 
boyhood ? The great brain of a young man was only 
fit for scalping if it had not a body able to wield the 
tomahawk ; the chieftains and leaders were honoured 
in proportion to the number of scalps within their 
wigwams. Such were the characteristics of the men 
who played the old game of Lacrosse. 

The descriptions given of the game by difierent 
travellers vary in some respects, as they happened 



THE ORiaiNAL GAME. 11 

to have seen it played at different periods, and among 
the various tribes ; but all unite in ascribing to it the 
hereditary wild beauty and variety which it has 
always retained. 

There was some dissimilarity among the different 
tribes in the shape of the stick used, the size and 
composition of the ball, the kind of goal, &c., but the 
general character of the game was the same. 

The Crosse. — As far back as we can trace we 
find the original Crosse to have been of a very 
different shape to that used at present. That of the 
Choctaws, Chippeways, Cherokees and Creeks was 
about three feet long, bent into an oblong hoop at 
one end large enough to hold the ball. That of the 
Sacs, Sioux, Objiways, Dacotahs, Poutawatamies, 
and most other tribes was about the same length, but 





the hoop was round as seen in the above illustration. 
None of the original sticks were over four feet long. 
The net-work of the oblong hoop was generally three 
inches long and two wide ; that of the round hoop, 



12 THE ORIGINAL GAME. 

twelve inches in circumference. The former was 
literally net-work, but the latter was simply two 
strings tied in the centre, and fastened in four 
places to the hoop ; and both were sufficiently 
bagged to catch and preserve the ball. The net- 
work or strings were originally of wattup^ the small 
roots of the spruce tree as used for sewing bark 
canoes ; — afterwards they were made of deer- 
skin. 

Among the Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks, &c., 
each player carried two sticks, one in each hand. 
The ball was caught and carried between them. 
There was considerable diflference in the play with 
one and with two sticks, and the former was by far 
the most expert, as it was the most difficult. 

The manner of picking up with one stick was 
peculiar, and indeed, necessary, owing to its shape. 
As the ball lay on the ground, it was almost covered 
with the hoop, and by a peculiar twist of the wrist 
and arm from right to left, scooped up in one motion. 
The ball was thrown from it by a jerk, and could not 
be pitched as far as with the present stick, as it got 
but little impetus. The Indians dodged very little, 
except when the ball was caught or picked up in a 



THE ORIGINAL OAME. 13 

Crowd, and dodging was necessary. This seems the 
more remarkable when we consider the shape of the 
stick, and the peculiar facilities for dodging, afforded 
by the concavity of the netting and the smallness of 
the hoop which retained the ball. 

On grand occasions, they ornamented the hoop 
and handle with small feathers or tufts of hair, and 
painted or dyed it various colors. 

Several tribes still use the original stick. The 
above illustration is taken from one which Mr. 
Radiger, an old Montreal Club player, used in 
several matches with the half-breeds of the Garden 
River Indian Reserve, Sault River, about 15 miles 
from the entrance to Lake Superior. It is 
similar to the Objiway stick described by early 
travellers. 

The BALL.~The original ball was about the size 
of a tennis ball, though differing among the tribes ; 
and was first made of deer-skin or raw-hide, stuffed 
with hair and sewed with sinews. The Objiways 
and Poutawatamies at the mouth of the Detroit River 
used a heavy wooden one, generally a knot ; while 
others improvised balls of the bark of the pine 
tree. 



14 THE ORIGINAL GAME. 

The Goals. — The earliest goal was any marked 
rock or tree that happened to be convenient ; and it 
is still customary among the domesticated and wild 
tribes in America to ignore such a thing as " flag 
poles." 

At grand matches, however, the Indians were 
more particular, and used for each goal a single 
pole or stake, eight feet high and two inches in 
diameter, or the two pole goal as at present. The 
distance from one goal to the other varied in proportion 
to the number of players, from five hundred yards 
to half a mile and more. The Poutawatamies, Sioux, 
Dacotahs, Cherokees, Sacs, Objiways, Iroquois, 
Algonquins, and nearly all tribes used the one pole. 
The four former merely required the ball to be 
thrown past the line of this stake ; the Objiways, 
Iroquois, Algonquins, &c., required the pole to be 
struck with the ball. The former still maintain this 
law. The Algonquins, seen by Charlevoix, used one 
pole. 

The Choctaws, seen by Catlin, used two stakes 
for each goal, twenty-five feet high, and six feet 
apart, with a pole or goal-line across the top. The 
Creeks in Alabama used two stakes, six feet high 



THE ORIGINAL GAME. 15 

and six feet apart. Basil Hall (1828) says they 
were simply boughs. 

THE GAME DIRECTOR 

Was the captain or presiding chief, under whose 
direction the goals were posted ; and who, among 
several tribes, made a preliminary speech to the 
players before starting the game. Sometimes he 
was the best player and fleetest runner, and joined 
in the game, and like the chiefs in Homer, tried to 
signalize himself by personal acts of courage, forge t- 
ing altogether the management of his men. 

. THE UMPIRES 

Were generally the old medicine men of the tribe, 
whose decision was in all cases final. 

DRESS OF THE PLAYERS. 

The primitive Indian players usually appeared 
almost as naked as the Grecian athletae, wearing 
only a tight breech cloth ; and on grand occasions 
painted their faces and bodies, and decorated them- 
selves with fantastic ornamental bead work, feathers 
&c., of various colors. They wore a curious kind of 



16 THE OmaiNAL GAME. 

tail, projecting from the small of the back, made 
of white horse hair or dyed quills of the Canada 
porcupine, and a mane or neck of horse hair dyed 
various colors. 

It was a rule of the Choctaws that no one should 
wear any dress save the breech cloth, and the 
aforesaid tail. The Poutawatamies always wore 
mocassins. 

PREPARATORY CEREMONIES. 

When great matches were on the tapis^ village 
against village, or tribe against tribe, they were 
agreed upon and the players selected months ahead. 
For two weeks before the day of the match, the 
competitors were to fast from all excesses, eat little 
food, and harden themselves by every possible means 
for the exertion in anticipation ; and the night pre- 
ceding, they rather ignored the present theory of train- 
ing, by a peculiar preparatory ceremony, which we will 
endeavour to describe. 

It was usual to select a moonlight night, and a 
grassy plot near the borders of a river or lake. 
Only those who were to play on the following day 
were permitted to join in the ceremony. A large 



THE ORIGINAL GAME. 17 

fire of pitch pine wood was kindled ; several musicians 

with Indian drums, and large gourds containing 

gravel, were seated to assist the players in keeping 

time in the dance. At a signal from the head chief, 

the intending competitors would begin what they 

called the training dance, — a succession of the most 

frantic movements and wriggling of the body and legs, 

contortions of the face, and screaming at the top of 

the voice, intended, like the military dances of the 

Greeks, to make the body active and strong, and to 

exhilirate the mind. It was also a sort of invocation 

to the Great Spirit for victory, and must have been 

of a character as terrible and expressive as the 

dances of the Furies. This dance was peculiarly 

attractive to the emotional Indian, who, like all 

barbarians, was a spontaneous dancer ; sounds, 

however rude, intoxicating him with a passion for a 

spasmodic oscillation of the body. After performing 

for an hour or longer, the players, heated and 

perspiring, immediately plunged into the cold stream. 

It was customary among some tribes to dance in a 

circle around a bonfire, with the crosses in hand ; 

while others danced in their costume around the 

goals, rattling their sticks together and singing aloud 

C 



18 THE ORIGINAL GAME. 

to the Great Spirit. Bach party danced for a 
-qnarter of an hour at a time around their respec- 
tive goals or bonfires, and repeated it every half 
hour during the night, which compelled the players 
to lie awake until sunrise. The squaws of each 
side kept the goods which were invariably staked 
upon the result of the match ; and at this dance 
they formed themselves in two straight rows between 
the two parties of players, and joined in the dance 
and song. Four of the most antediluvian medicine 
men who were to act as umpires on the following 
•day, were seated at the point where the game was to 
be started, solemnly smoking and praying to the 
Great Spirit for impartiality in judgment. Catlin 
gives a few excellent sketches of the original game 
as played by the Choctaws, and among them a very 
suggestive one of this preparatory dance. 

In Capt. Basil Hall's " Travels in the United 
States in 1827-28," we find a new feature of this 
preparatory ceremony, introduced after the dance, 
among the Creeks of Alabama. The players met in 
a hut, round which ran a seat close to the wall ; 
in the middle a fire was burning, at which the 
players squatted, nearly naked, tying cords tightly 



THE ORIGINAL GAME. 19 

around one another's arms and thighs. They then 
splashed themselves with water, and each placing 
himself in a sloping position against a wooden pillar, 
went through the ceremony of "scarifying." This 
was done by expert operators, who using an instru- 
ment formed of the sharp teeth of the gar fish — two 
rows of about fifteen teeth tied to a corn cob, scraped 
the arms and legs of the players over a space of more 
than fifteen inches in length. 

"Five separate scratchings were made on each 
man's leg below the knee, five on each thigh, and 
five on each arm, in all nearly thirty sets of cuts. 
As the instrument contained about thirty teeth, each 
Indian must in every case have had several hundred 
lines drawn on his skin. The blood flowed profusely, 
as long as the bandages were kept tight. This 
indeed, seemed to be one of their principal objects, 
as the Indians endeavoured to assist the bleeding by 
throwing their arms and legs about, holding them 
over, and sometimes placing them almost in the fire, 
for a second or two. It was altogether a hideous 
and frightful scene. For my own part I scarcely 
knew how to feel when I found myself amongst some 
dozens of naked savages, streaming with blood from 



2Q THE ORIGINAL GAME. 

top to toe, sHpping and yelling round a fire, or 
talking at the top of their voices in a language of 
which I knew nothing, or laughing as merrily as if it 
were the best fun in the world to be cut to pieces. » 
Not one of these lads uttered the slightest complaint ^ 
durmg the operation ; but when I watched their 
countenances closely, I observed that only twoor 
three bore the discipline without shrinking or twisting 

their faces a little. 

« I was told that these scarifications and bleedmgs 
render the men more limber and active, and bring 
them into proper condition to undergo the exertion 
of the ball-play on the following morning. I don t 
know how this may be with my friends the Creeks ; 
but I suspect half a dozen of the cuts of which 
each of these young fellows received some hun- 
dreds, would have laid me up for a week : 

On the next day and for hours previous to the ap- 
pointed time for the match, a crowd of warriors 
Laws and children assembled on the plain selected 
for the game, dressed in the gaudiest feathers and 
bead work, and squatted on the ground m little 
picturesque groups. One of the principal prelimi- 
Lies was handing to the stake-holders the property 



THE ORIGINAL GAME. 21 

hazarded upon the result of the game, and not only 
did every warrior bet, but the women carried it to 
excess, and even the children wagered their childish 
toys. 

It was an affectation of the players to keep out of 
sight until everything was ready, and they usually 
were in the adjacent woods, busily painting and 
feathering in the most fantastic styles imaginable. 
The two parties who were to contend for the prize 
were divided, and posted in opposite parts of the 
woods, and during the process of festooning they 
indulged in wild whoops and cries. 

The goals were now placed by the game director, 
and a stake set to mark the centre of the field where 
the ball was sometimes laid, according to custom. 
At a certain signal the two parties advanced leisurely 
from their covert, brandishing their sticks, shouting, 
making terrible contortions and grimaces and turning 
somersaults. It was customary among the lady 
loves of the Cherokees to run out on the field at this 
stage, and give beaded and other tokens of favoritism 
to their dusky gallants, which these savage lovers 
wore during the game as faithfully as the most 
chivalrous knight of the 12th century ever carried 



22 THE ORIGINAL GAME. 

lady's glove in combat. Lanman, who witnessed this 
little episode of the game among the Cherokees of 
Qualla town. North Carolina, says: "This little 
movement struck me as particularly interesting, and 
I was greatly pleased with the bashfulness and yet 
complete confidence with which the Indian maidens 
manifested their preferences." What an incentive 
to first twelves if Canada's fair daughters would 
revive the fashion ! How it would put one on one's 
mettle to be a crack player ! 

Where this custom was not in vogue, the players 
either danced, one party at a time, around their 
respective goals, as the night previous, and advanced 
to the middle of the field where they laid or sat 
down, yelling defiance at each other. At a signal 
from the game director they sprang to their feet and 
held their sticks over their heads, facing, and gradual- 
ly approaching until they were within a yard of 
each other. Upon another signal they laid their sticks 
down at their feet, and the sides were counted. When 
the game was for mere pleasure, the men could 
choose the sides upon which they would play. The 
game director now delivered a long speech, urging 
the players to energy and fair-play ; they then dis- 



THE ORIGINAL GAME. 23 

persed and every man took his own position. The 
old chiefs seated themselves on the ground with ten 
small sticks, with which they kept the score of games; 
pulling all out when they got to " eleven," and re- 
placing one to count ten. Matches consisted 
sometimes of ten, twenty and one hundred games, 
and often lasted two or three days. 

THE GAME. 

The game generally began at nine o'clock in the 
morning. The Indians had different ways of inaugu- 
rating it, and never seemed to have " faced "as at 
present. Sometimes the ball was laid on the ground 
in the centre of the field, and at a signal from the 
game director, a general rush was made towards it, 
amid a glorious clatter and scramble, — the best man 
at a hundred yards generally picking it up, and 
making off with it like a deer foUow^ed by the hounds. 
The most common way, however, was to throw it 
high into the air in the centre of the field, which 
altered the appearance of this part of the game, as 
the players reached the centre before the ball fell, 
and leaped at it en masse to catch or strike it away. 
Sometimes it was caught by one player between his 



24 THE ORIGINAL GAME. 

two spooney sticks. Charlevoix says the Algonquins 
in Canada tried to keep the ball from touching the 
ground during the progress of the game, and that if 
a player missed a catch, the game was lost for his 
side unless he could send it to goal in one throw. It 
was never allowable to pick it up from the ground 
with the hand, but it was customary to use the hand 
in tapping or blocking it away from the body. 

The wildness of the old game is graphically 
sketched by Catlin (who saw it played by 600, 
800 and 1000 Choctaws and others, at a time), 
Basil Hall, Sir James Stewart, Lanman and others. 
The players would trip and throw each other, and 
sometimes as occasion offered, take flying leaps over 
the heads of stooping opponents, or dart between 
their extended legs. " In these struggles," says 
Catlin, " every mode is used that can be devised to 
oppose the progress of the foremost who is likely to 
get the ball, and these obstructions often meet 
desperate individual resistance, which terminate in 
violent scuflling, and sometimes fisticuffs ! — when 
their sticks were dropped and the parties are un- 
molested while settling it between themselves, unless 
it be by a general stampede to which they are 



THE ORIGINAL GAME. 25 

subject who are down, if the ball happens to pass in 
their direction." " There are times," he adds, 
" when the ball gets to the ground, when there is 
a confused mass of balls, sticks, shins and bloody 
noses." When the ball fell among the spectators, 
the players leaped into them like a whirlwind, with 
as little regard for their safety as their own, and 
there was a well known art among the spectators of 
saving oneself from much tumbling and contusion by 
embracing the nearest tree and holding on like grim 
death until the rush of players had passed. It 
seemed as if they were bent upon dislocating or 
breaking every bone of their bodies ; they tumbled 
and dragged and did everything rough in pursuit of 
the little deer-skin ball. One remarkable feature 
of the old game was the magnificent leaps which the 
players indulged in, either for show or to grasp the 
ball in the air. " At one time," says Lanman, " the 
whole crowd of players would rush together in the 
most desperate and fearful manner, presenting, as 
they struggled for the ball, the appearance of a 
dozen gladiators, striving to overcome a monster 
serpent ; and then again, as one man would secure 
the ball and start for the boundary of his opponent, 



26 THE ORIGINAL GAME. 

the races which ensued were very beautiful and 
exciting." 

Basil Hall's description of the old game, as played 
by the Creeks, is so well delineated that we cannot 
do better than give an extract from his travels : — 

'' One of the chiefs, having advanced to the centre 
of the area, cast the ball high in the air. ^ As it fell, 
between twenty and thirty of the players rushed 
forward, and leaping several feet ofi the ground, 
tried to strike it. The multiplicity of blows, acting 
in different directions, had the effect of bringing the 
ball to the ground, where a fine scramble took place, 
and a glorious clatter of sticks mingled with the cries 
of the savages. At length, an Indian, more expert 
than the others, contrived to nip the ball between 
the ends of his two sticks, and having managed to 
fork it out, ran off with it like a deer, with his arms 
raised over his head, pursued by a whole party 
engaged in the first struggle. The fortunate youth 
was, of course, intercepted in his progress twenty 
different times by his antagonists, who shot like 
hawks across his flight from all parts of the field, to 
knock the prize out of his grasp, or to trip him up — 
in short by any means to prevent his throwing it 



THE ORIGINAL GAME. 27 

through the opening between the boughs at the end 
of the play-ground. Whenever this grand purpose 
of the game was accomplished, the successful party 
announced their right to count one by a fierce yell 
of triumph, which seemed to pierce the very depths 
of the wilderness. It was sometimes highly amusing 
to see the way in which the Indian, who got hold of 
the ball, contrived to elude his pursuers. It was not 
to be supposed he was allowed to proceed straight to 
the goal or wicket, or even to get near it ; but on 
the contrary, he was obliged in most cases to make a 
circuit of many hundred yards amongst the trees, 
with thirty or forty swift-footed fellows stretching 
after or athwart him, with their fantastic tiger's tails 
streaming behind them , and he, in like manner, at 
full speed, and holding his stick as high over his head 
as possible, sometimes ducking to avoid a blow, or 
leaping to escape a trip, sometimes doubling like a 
hare, and sometimes tumbling at full length or break- 
ing his shins on a fallen tree, but seldom losing hold 
of his treasure without a severe struggle. These 
parts of the game were exciting in the highest degree, 
and it almost made the spectators breathless to look at 
them." 



28 THE ORIGINAL GAME. 

Catlin would ride 80 miles on horseback to witness 
a game, and he says he has almost dropped from his 
horse's back with irresistible laughter at the succes- 
sion of droll tricks and kicks and scuffles which 
ensue in: the almost superhuman struggles for the 
ball. Carver saw it played by Indians, whom he says 
played with such vehemence that broken bones were 
no rarity, ^^but not withstanding, there never appears 
to be any spite, or wanton exertions of strength to 
affect them ; nor do disputes ever happen between the 
parties.^^ 

A few concluding extracts will prove the same 
remarkable interest in the old as in the present 
game. Catlin, writing of a match he saw, says : 
" I pronounce such a scene, with its hundreds of 
nature's most beautiful models denuded, and painted 
various colors, running and leaping in the air in all 
of the most enlivening and varied forms, in desperate 
struggles for the ball, a school for painter or sculptor 
equal to any of those which ever inspired the hand 
of an artist in the Olympian games or Roman 
forum," 

Lanman, among the Sioux, says : " The Olympic 
beauty of this game is beyond all praise. It calls 



THE ORIGII^AL GAME. 29 

into active exercise every muscle of the human frame, 
and brings into bold relief the supple and athletic 
forms of the best built people in the world. At one 
time a figure will rivet your attention, similar to the 
Apollo Belvidere, and another, you will actually be 
startled by the surpassing eloquence of a Mercury." 
The game was played in the United States occasion- 
ally some years ago by several of the most numerous 
tribes, who used the original stick and generally the 
one pole goal, but a combination of circumstances 
has almost obliterated it as an Indian recreation in 
that free Republic where Indians and negroes have 
not exactly paradisiacal times. 

Mr. Radiger tells me he has both seen it played 
and participated in the game with the Objiway half- 
breeds of the Garden River Indian Reserve, Sault 
River. They use the original round hoop stick, and 
use only one. Their goal is a single pole, eight feet 
high and two inches in diameter, and must be struck 
to decide the game. They begin the game after 
the primitive manner, of placing the stick on the 
ground in front of them, and the ball is thrown 
up in the air. " They do very little dodging," 
writes our friend, " except when they get near to 



30 THE ORIGINAL GAME. 

the goal, when they do wriggle consider ally y The 
Lac La Pluie Indians, 225 miles west of Lake 
Superior, occasionally hold their grand fetes and 
medicine ceremonies near Fort Francis, at which 
6,000 natives assemble. In the report on the 
Exploration of the country between Lake Superior 
and the Red River settlement, it is stated, that the 
Indians " do not scruple to jump over the fences and 
run through the ground crops if their ball in the game 

of is driven in that direction." The blank 

may be interpreted '' Lacrosse." The game is also 
played at the diflferent establishments of the Hudson 
Bay Company in Rupert's Land, &c, by the savage 
tribes of Lower Winnipeg. Several hundreds played 
before Fort Garry, the capital of the Red River 
country, a couple of years ago. The Rocky 
Mountain Indians still play and use the original 
stick. 

On the Saskatchewan, the Prairie, Crees, Black- 
feet and Assinniboines still celebrate their returns 
from the buffalo hunt by grand contests of the original 
game. 

When Charlevoix and his party were ascending 
the St. Lawrence at some point between Quebec and 



THE ORIGINAL GAME. 31 

Three Rivers, they saw the game, which Charlevoix 
calls " le jeu de la crosse," played by the Algon- 
quins, who used the present stick. 

The Hurons at Loretto, below Quebec, played 
extensively about fifty years ago, using the present 
stick and a ball of worsted, covered with deer-skin. 
Their goals were lines drawn at both ends of the 
field, and game was decided by throwing across 
either line. The sport was very rough and tumble. 
Latterly this remnant of the great Huron tribe have 
entirely neglected their glorious pastime. 



CHAPTER III. 



GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE PRESENT GAME. 

Though sports are transmitted from one genera- 
tion to another, they usually change their general 
character 5 as they do their names, yet seldom lose 
their most prominent features. When civilization 
tamed the manners and habits of the Indian, it re- 
flected its modifying influence upon his amusements^ 
and thus was Lacrosse gradually divested of its radical 
rudeness and brought to a more sober sport — though 
to call the game in any measure a sober recreation 
may be bordering on the sarcastic. Only a savage 
people could, would or should play the old game ; 
only such constitutions, such wind and endurance 
could stand its violence. The present game, 
improved and reduced to rule by the whites, 
employs the greatest combination of physical and 
mental activity white men can sustain in recreation, 



1 



THE PRESENT GAME. 33 

and is as much superior to the original as civilization 
is to barbarism, base ball to its old English parent of 
rounders, or a pretty Canadian girl to any unculti- 
vated squaw. 

The aim of Lacrosse is so evident and simple that 
a child looker-on can intuitively understand it. It 
has no elaborate nomenclature to make it puzzling ; 
its science and beauty need but eyes for discovery. 
The players are divided into two equal sides ; each 
has a goal to defend and one to attack ; certain men 
are posted in certain positions ; the ball is placed 
midway on the field and faced for by the centres. 
The object of both sides is to put the ball through 
the goal of the opponent and prevent him getting it 
through theirs ; and all the running, throwing and 
endless variety of play tends to that end. One 
objection to some field games is the intricate mystery 
surrounding the best parts of the exercise ; and 
however much we admire the fine play we intuitively 
understand, it is disagreeable to know that there is a 
vast deal hidden, because of our theoretical and 
practical ignorance. A field game ought to be a 
literal sport : if it is encompassed by too much con- 
ventionality — if too much science makes it tedious 



34 THE PRESENT GAME. 

and exclusive, wherein lies its literal recreation ? 
The most of men have no sympathy with field games 
that can only interest when crack players make 
them lively. If they are to be hard study, don't 
call them sports ; if sports, then get out of them all 
possible recreation. 

It is not generally the custom of Anglo-Saxons to 
depreciate a game because it is likely to become 
more popular than their particular favorite ; but 
Lacrosse has been one of the best-abused in th© cata- 
logue of recreations. It would seem a pity if the 
race of grumblers met with even a sport to please 
them. Lacrosse, however, survived in spite of dis- 
paragement ; and its unparalleled spread within the 
last two years is the best proof of its suitableness and 
attraction. A game that can persuade over two 
hundred of the youth of a single Canadian city to 
rise at half-past five, three or four mornings all 
through the summer weeks, when all other games 
put together cannot muster a corporal's guard ; and 
that can regularly attract thousands of spectators 
when the exhibition of other games fails to pay 
expenses, needs no eulogy ; it speaks for itself. 
Lacrosse has its failings, but so has every game ; 



THE PRESENT GAME. 35 

Ibut for what the object of all such sports should be 
— that is, the healthy, active exercise of every 
part of the body, unintermittent amusement, infinite 
variety, and science enough to stimulate young 
players to keep at it till they learn, and old ones 
not to give it up — what other game compares to 
Lacrosse ? 

It has the merit, too, of being a cheap game, in 
which all can participate without much outlay. It 
is not exclusive ; every player, has his innings, so to 
speak, at the same time, and no one monopolizes the 
best part because he happens to be an extra good 
player. Good players cannot be kept down, nor 
sent off fagging for others ; they rise to the surface 
as surely as cork on water. There are none of the 
debasing accompaniments, the bar-room associations 
of other games ; there is no beastly snobbishness 
about it. There is nothing missed by b^ing late at 
practice ; the game is always alive, and there is 
always an opening for late comers. A game can be 
played in a short time, and as much exercise got in 
half an hour as will do for a day. With a crosse 
and a ball any one can practice alone ; any boy can 
amuse himself all day. 



36 THE PRESENT GAME. 

A contributor to Chambers Journal, in December, 
1862, under the heading of " A Kival to Cricket/^ 
makes free use of my little hroehure of 1860, often 
word for word, without acknowledgment. I freely 
forgive him the plagiarism for thus discoursing: 
" As a game, I rank Lacrosse far above cricket or 
golf. It does not require attendants and special 
ground, like golf, and it boasts more unintermittent 
amusement and more simultaneous competition than 
cricket. The materials, too, are cheaper, and you 
require no ^ hog-in-armour ' costume. It is more 
varied, more ingenious, more subtle than cricket, 
and, above all, it can be played in all seasons of the 
year without danger, expense or preparation. No 
marquees required, no grass rolling, no expensive 
bats or balls, no spiked shoes, and no padded leg- 
gings to preserve you from the cannon shots of fast 
bowlers, who seem determined to maim or lame 
somebody ; above all, there is not that tiresome and 
wearisome waiting for the innings. The whole 
twenty-four (or field) have their innings simul- 
taneously, and have both an equal chance and an 
equal certainty of amusement and employment ; 
while in cricket a beginner gets, perhaps, ten strokes 



THE PRESENT GAME. 37 

at a ball, and that is all in the whole game. I admit 
the pleasure of the good swipe in cricket, the excite- 
ment of the runs, the delight of blocking a treacherous 
slow ball, the rapture of catching out a good player, 
and the feverish anxiety of a close-run game, but 
still I hold that cricket cannot hold a candle to 
Lacrosse for variety, ingenaity and interest." 

" It was marvellous to see, as the ball for the first 
flew up in the air, those statues spring into life 
instantly. The field was dotted with groups of 
struggling figures, now running into jostling knots, 
now fanning out in swift lines like skirmishers before 
a grand army. Every now and then there would break 
away from the rest some sinewy, subtle runner, who, 
winding and twisting like a serpent, would dash 
between the eager ranks of his rivals, avoiding every 
blow, now stooping, now leaping, now turning, quick 
as a greyhound and artful as a fox ; and then, as the 
ball was shot between the crimson flags of the 
Montreal men, the Indians would give a war-yell 
that echoed again." 

Lacrosse is always fresh and lively, and sustains 
its attractiveness from'; beginning to end. No player 
has either time or inclination to sit on his heels and 



38 THE PRESENT GAME. 

yawn ; there is none of that serious work and gloomy 
pleasure which is the bane of some field games, and 
which some players try to counteract by light gym- 
nastics, or feats which have nothing to do with the 
game. It unbends the mind better than any other 
sport, because of the ubiquity of the ball ; it is more 
like genuine recreation, and is a holiday to the blood 
to play, and a half-holiday to look on. 

One grand element in Lacrosse is its native 
attraction and amusement to spectators — -and how 
soon it converts them into players ! The indefatig- 
able running and fascinating contests between 
opponents wherever the ball goes ; the excitement 
of dodging and of battles around the goals, are 
watched with breathless interest, while the frequent 
sudden upsets and somersaults would make even 
a Plato laugh, and the moroseness of an Antis- 
thenes take flight for ever. Any one who has taken 
the trouble to study the faces of spectators at a 
match may have seen in their expression an index of 
the character of the game. Gouty old gentlemen 
forget their big toes in the excitement of watching a 
struggle for the ball ; the faces of crusty bachelors 
soften into the old smiles of their youth, while low 



THE PRESENT GAME. 39 

grumbling laughter, as if afraid to come up, begins to 
shake them in epigastric regions, and gradually ex- 
panding into hearty haw-haws, gives them a perma- 
nent and happy cure. Prudes forget their primness ; 
snobs their propriety ; old women fearlessly expose 
themselves to dismantling ; young ladies to the demol- 
ishment of crinohne and waterfall ; small boys to the 
imminent fracture of limbs ; dogs will rush frantic- 
ally over the field and after the ball, exposed to 
annihilation, while cheers rend the air at good play, 
and an epidemic of laughter seizes the crowd at the 
ridiculous incidents and misfortunes of unlucky men. 
It seems very pardonable to enjoy the laughable 
shipwreck of some overweening dodger and his 
excited checker, who make battering rams of their 
bodies, and send dodger, checker, crosses and ball all 
in a heap. It helps the circulation of the blood 
even to watch the varied changes on the field as the 
ball flies through the air, and twenty-four or more 
active fellows are alive to its career. The lively 
and graceful attitudes, the skilful manoeuvring of 
body, and the scientific handling of the crosse ; the 
little spirts and leaps — often pretty enough to be 
affected; the twists and turnings, rallies and 



40 THE PRESENT GAME. 

charges, make a beautiful combination of play ; 
while the eye can sometimes hardly follow the 
skilful feats and incidents which occur in such quick 
succession. How determinedly, how earnestly they 
work ; how they put their hearts into the pleasure, 
and even enjoy their own misfortunes ; letting out 
the most demonstrative proof of sound lung and limb 
ever developed by field game, and realizing some- 
thing of the rush and thrill of a genuine battle. 
Nature may send born poets into the world, but she 
never sends Lacrosse players ; at least, not in 
any white community. There is nothing more 
amusing to a good player than to watch the first 
attempts of a tyro, with a crosse and a ball. There 
it lies on the ground before him ; nothing seems 
simpler than to pick it up. He makes a frantic 
dash with his stick lowered, but the ball makes a 
retrograde movement, and the more he pokes at it, 
the more it seems to evade him. By and bye he 
learns to take it cool ; there is another plunge and a 
scoop, and he has it ; and now the mischief of the 
thing is to carry it. If he holds his crosse out at 
arm's length, it persists in rolling off ; if he attempts 
to throw to any point, it will go straight up over 



THE PRESENT GAME. 41 

his head, or to the very point where he least 
expected. He sees a dodger passing checks in 
succession, and it seems easy enough ; checking not 
so very hard ; goal-keeping simplicity itself. His 
entire existence for the first few hours is one of 
inglorious mishaps and disappointments ; but soon 
the ball is carried with ease, and thrown with 
accuracy ; the sprawling nervous tips and swipes in 
final desperation give place to grace and facility, 
and the novice enjoys something of the astonishment 
of a young Newfoundland dog thrown into the water 
for the first time, who, trying to walk, discovers he 
can swim. 

If it is a worthy thing to be a player at all, it is 
well worth while being a good one. When the 
novice has learned to pick up and master the ball, to 
throw, catch, check, dodge and field properly, he 
will find he needs something more to get on ^' the 
first twelve." To play well he must be able to keep 
it up ; to stand the exertion in the game he must 
live temperately, and abstain from all " hot and rebel- 
lious hquors." To be a good player, too, he must 
learn to control temper under the most trying 
provocations, cultivate courage, self-reliance, perse- 



42 THE PRESENT GAME. 

verance ; and, above all, learn by heart and practise 
in conscience that beautiful verse of Thackeray's — 

'* Who misses or who wins the prize, 
Gro, lose or conquer as you can, 
But if you fail, or if you rise, 
Be each, pray God, a gentleman." 

The best players are early risers. No sluggish 
snoozing after five or six, but up while " silken 
dailliance in the wardrobe lies," and out in the blue 
unclouded morning, on a fresh green meadow, where 
one's blood is set a boil, and put into such healthy 
circulation that appetites are made ravenous for 
breakfast. A grand tonic it is, too, which bestows 
a clear head and a fresh heart, and makes one feel 
as if he had stolen a march upon time, and was 
prepared to tackle to business, after the fashion of 
Monckton Milne's men of old who 

*' "Went about their gravest tasks 
Like noble boys at play." 

Lacrosse dislikes fellows who '^ spree," who make 
syphons of their oesophagi, and who cannot make 
better use of their leisure than to suck mint juleps 
through straws. It dislikes immaculate snobs, or 
snobs of any kind, who are allowed to live to show 



THE PRESENT GAME. 43 

what an absurd donkey excessive conceit can make 
a man. It has no sympathy with grumpy, selfish 
brutes, whose science consists in swiping, and who 
think more of their individual performance than the 
honor of the game. Neither has it affinity for those 
model specimens of propriety who think a young 
man is on the road to perdition unless he is always 
reading good books, and making himself a bore to his 
friends by stale, hypocritical moral conversation — 
those nice young men in black broadcloth who never 
can take a joke, and who prefer draughts with other 
nice young men to healthy Lacrosse. The game of 
Lacrosse dislikes all hypocrisy, unnaturalness, and 
assumption, and it is the very thing to knock all 
such out of a man. By the shade of Tullock-chish-ko,* 
it is a glorious game ! 

Take those whining schoolboys who " creep un- 
willingly to school," give them crosses, encourage 
them to go into it, rough-and-tumble if they will 
until they learn better play, and the sapling will 
shoot into finer plant, and the lessons come easier 
and stay longer. Lacrosse quickens and brightens 

* The greatest player among the Choctaws of old. 



44 THE PRESENT GAME. 

the mind. The close quarters in strugghng for the 
ball, the contests of strength and agility, will bring 
out dormant energies in boys, develop their pluck and 
manliness, give them self-confidence, and, like Nelson 
when a boy, they will forget or never know the meaning 
of fear. Cerberus may come down ever so cruelly on 
upturned palm, but the lads will not cry : what care 
they for taws or tanning when they have run the 
gauntlet of a dozen whirling crosses, and each one of 
them, like the English after Agincourt, can 

" Strip his sleeve, and show his scars. 
And say — These wounds I had on Crispin's day." 

And here Shakspere brings us to the " moving 
accidents" in the game. It was once a part of the 
players creed to believe in unpitying roughness, and 
the best men were noted for maiming others and 
following the ball in a raiding fashion, " seeking 
whom they might devour." That was in the days 
of no government, when clubs were seriously con- 
sidering the propriety of attaching surgeons, and 
purchasing club ambulances. Happily this is chang- 
ing, though not yet complete. The laws forbid 
spiked soles which might pierce the feet of an anta- 



THE PRESENT GAME. 45 

gonist, deliberate tripping or striking each other, 
holding or grasping a player or his crosse. There is 
nothing in the game as severe as the " mauling, 
hacking, and tripping" of the Rugby game of foot- 
ball, or the maiming from cricket or racket balls. 
Who has not seen every part of the anatomy maimed 
by cricket and base ball, and eyes gouged out by 
racket balls. The worst accident yet known from 
Lacrosse was the fracture of the radius of an arm by 
a fall. No one was ever maimed for life, though it 
is hard to go earnestly into the game and entirely 
escape some slight skin cuts and scratches. Many 
players have their own blood upon their heads by 
persistent attempts to dodge when they cannot dodge ; 
but after all no game is worth a fig if it has not some 
spice of danger. 

What boots it to any one else if those who are 
hurt do not complain ? Do Lacrosse players enjoy 
their mishaps, as foxes, they say, enjoy being hunted ? 
It would seem so. Before the formation of laws by 
the Montreal Club in 1867, the game was destitute 
of regulations, saving the impromptu rules made 
upon the field, and broken at the first opportunity. 
Now it has a code which has regulated and systema- 



46 THE PRESENT GAME. 

tized it from beginning to end, quietly settled old 
causes of dissension, and opened a field for develop- 
ment which was previously hidden by rough play. 
It is true there are some men always on the qui vive 
for offence, who will dog their opponents and hit 
their heads oftener than their crosse ; one may never 
expect fair play or good manners from them. A few 
such players counteract all the good intentions of the 
laws, and originate the only faults that can be found 
in the game. 

One objection to Lacrosse — hardly ever made, 
though, by players — is the great exertion required. 
It is a common perversion of the game to be made 
violent by unscientific and young players. They 
make vehement what they cannot make scientific. 
But the fierce exertion is fast becoming traditional, 
and it is a question if the present game is more 
fatiguing than foot-ball, or half as trying and danger- 
ous as a stiff boat-race. Hard work, however, is no 
disparagement. It is a fact that Her Majesty's 
subjects, wherever they are to be found, are fonder 
of real hard work in their amusements than any other 
people. It is this inherent quality which makes 
them the best average cricketers, rowers, boxers, and 



THE PRESENT GAME. 47 

fox hunters in the world, and the most adventurous 
travellers. The Alps have been climbed by more 
Britons than all the other nationalities put together ; 
a Briton penetrated to the North Pole, too far to 
survive ; another, despite of peremptory mandates, 
ventured into African mazes and Chinese sanctums, 
and had his bowels let out for reward. A French- 
man, looking on at a game of cricket, said he would 
rather fight than play it ; and some nations cannot 
understand the spirit of adventure of the Anglo- 
Saxon race. In Canada the same love of adventure 
and hard work is evinced in snow-shoeing, toboganing, 
and Lacrosse, as well as those imported sports which 
are not indigenous to the soil. The Montreal fox 
hunt has a stifier country to ride over than any in 
Europe. Canadians gave the All-England Eleven 
the hardest tug this side of the Atlantic ; Canadian 
oarsmen are probably equal to any in the world. It 
is this love of hard work which helps to make Lacrosse 
popular. Labor ipse voluptas. There is somewhat 
of an illusion, however, among spectators at a 
Lacrosse match. They see an excitable wavering 
game ; the real play is not confined to any Hmit — it 
is far from Quakerish. They see twenty-four men 



48 THE PRESENT GAME. 

on the alert for the ubiquitous ball — here and there 
they move out and in, while some run as fast as their 
legs can carry them. The ball flies through the air 
from one point to another ; there are innumerable 
close contests and hard struggles in attack and 
defence, all of which appear in quick succession. 
From the red flags to the blue, the men are full of 
life — ^not one is useless — the grass has no time to 
grow where they run — and the result is an apparent 
amount of intense exertion, which the spectators 
invariably magnify. 

Pity it is that gunpowder should rob us of such 
glorious fights as Hastings and Naseby, and, as Don 
Quixote laments, give men now no chance for indivi- 
dual valor ; for what grand training Lacrosse would 
have been for sword and battle-axe encounter — for 
splitting helmet from crown to chin — for storming 
redoubts without fear of flying shot or shell ; in 
fact, for hand to hand conflict. Confound the man 
who first invented breech-loaders ! Are those 
splendid bayonet charges of the " thin red line" to 
become traditionary because any scarecrow can lie 
on his belly and pop a dozen bullets at it in the same 
time as he used to fire one ? But a truce to war 



THE PRESENT GAME. 49 

:and weapons ; this sounds bloodthirsty, and Lacrosse 
is a recreation, though it may be, too, as all such 
sports are, a peace preparation for war, if needs be. 
A valuable addition to education in Canadian schools 
is the systematic instruction in the use of the rifle 
and gymnastics. Nothing better brings out the 
mental as well as physical mettle of boys. The story 
of a certain Duke who, looking on at the boys 
playing at Eton, said, " It was there the battle of 
Waterloo was won," is familiar to every one. 

To come back to the game. Lacrosse as a bene- 
ficial exercise has no superior. It combines the 
benefits of several. It brings into operation at one 
time more muscles than any other game, and equal- 
izes the exercise over the entire system. Biceps and 
<5hest, trained by boxing, are developed at the 
expense of other muscles and parts left in repose, 
and the object of exercise is frustrated, that is, the 
symmetrical development from head to toe, brain as 
well as muscle. Lacrosse stimulates nutrition, invi- 
gorates and equalizes the circulation, quickens and 
frees the function of respiration, strengthens the 
appetite and digestion, and purifies the blood. Its 

sociability calls forth a nervous stimulus which acts 

E 



50 THE PRESENT GAME. 

enticingly on the muscles ; and, in accordance with 
the truest physiological rules of exercise, it has its 
origin in, and is kept up by, an active mental 
stimulant, involving a healthy variety of movement 
which may be proportioned to any age or constitu- 
tion. It educates the body to speed and agility, and 
gives one a feeling of freshness and lightness, the 
true sign of good health. Galen says games of ball 
cure low spirits, " be it with hand or racket." 

Does Lacrosse not do any service for mind as well 
as body ? Certainly it does. It knocks timidity and 
nonsense out of a young man, training him to tem- 
perance, confidence, and pluck ; teaches him to 
govern his temper if he has too much, or rouses it 
healthily if he has too little. It shames grumpiness 
out of him, schools his vanity, and makes him a man. 
It develops judgment and calculation, promptness 
and decision ; destroys conventionality, and creates 
a sort of freemasonry which draws men of the same 
tastes and sympathies together. It has one result, 
too, which the good Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, foresaw 
in such healthy exercises when he made them part of 
his system of instruction, viz., a mingling of Greek 
with Christian education, " in which the body should 



THE PRESENT GAME. 61 

become the strong instrument of the trained mind 
and free heart, open to every pure, high, and heroic 
feehng." Its moral influence is beyond dispute. 

SCIENCE AND DEVELOPMENT. 

There are a few disparagers of Lacrosse who refuse 
it fealty, because, as they assert, " there is no science 
in it," though they fail to remember that it is as yet 
in its infancy among the only men — the whites — who 
can develop its science, and that it has only recently 
been brought under the restraint of standard laws, 
which materially check the old rough-and-tumble 
play. It takes more than one season to make a good 
Lacrosse player as well as a cricketer ; and when we 
study to practise on the principles maturing, there 
will be just enough of science in the game to make 
it popular, and not too much to make it a bore. 

What is " Science" as imphed in a sport ? The 
wrestling and leaping of hounds at play is not science. 
A cat can spring with more nimbleness than a 
Lacrosse player, and a young setter will get at a ball 
on the ground with his fore-paws or his teeth, how- 
ever quick it may be tipped or frisked with a crosse 
— ^but that is not science. Science in a sport implies 



62 THE PRESENT GAME. 

training and education of the intellect, a high use of 
the reasoning faculty, and a capacity to experiment 
and improve, and impart principles of knowledge to 
another. It can only be a human prerogative. The 
difference between it and art is, that science is a 
collection of the general principles or leading 
precepts ; art is the skill that apphes them. " A 
principle in science is a rule of art." The theory 
of Lacrosse is its science — the practice is its art. 

The science of a sport is not immutable like that 
of mathematics. The latter is founded upon a few 
axioms and definitions, and it is impossible to prove 
Euclid's propositions to one who disputes the axioms. 
In a sport, however, contingencies and casual 
circumstances occur, which lead off from some 
theories into new ones, and such science can never 
be unalterable and certain. 

Is the art of Lacrosse based on a science ? Hot 
entirely so, not as much so as cricket ; but that there 
is science in the game is proved by the fact that many 
throws, dodges, checks, &c., are explained by fixed 
principles, from which no one can deviate and be 
successful. The throw of the ball, for instance, unlike 
that of a die, is not under the doctrine of chance. 



THE PRESENT GAME. 63 

All things being equal, the rules given for accurate 
and long shots, &C.5 are no probability or surmise. 
No one undertakes to say that principles can be laid 
down to govern every movement, every part of play 
— that cannot be expected in any sport. 

Catlin's and other descriptions of the original game 
differ very much from the present Lacrosse, and the 
transformation is palpable even to .those who cannot 
play. Old players can recal the game of ten or 
twelve years ago, or even three years ago, before the 
estabhshment of laws, and will acknowledge the im- 
provement of the present game, not only in the 
destruction of the old principle of brute force and 
hard running, but in the invention of new and superior 
modes of practice. Many of the general principles 
of fielding, methods of dodging, throwing, frisking the 
ball, &c.,were unknown three years ago as a regular 
art. The game is not played better now because 
every player trains or is better winded and stronger 
than the old players, but because it is played on 
different principles. When the bagged crosse was 
repudiated, a comparatively new field of development 
was opened, and a vexatious cause of excessive 
dispute and dodging removed. The laws of Lacrosse 



64 THE PRESENT GAME. 

created new ranges of thought and experiment ; new 
theories and principles were laid down, and new 
modes of practice developed, and more method given 
to any madness in the game. 

Science in Lacrosse is brought out by the netting 
on the stick used, which is not possible in shinty, or 
games played differently with a different instrument. 
The various feats with the ball on the crosse are not 
possible in any other game. 

The development of science in Lacrosse, has been 
brought about, too, by the smallness of the fields, or 
the short distances from goal to goal ; bringing the 
players to close contests, and necessitating quick 
feats, and entirely different play from that formerly 
practised on large fields The whites have only ever 
beaten the Indians because they played on smaller 
fields than the latter are accustomed to ; and there 
is no doubt but that if the red skins had goals half a 
mile apart, the whites would seldom, if ever, get a 
chance to touch the ball. The white game differs 
from the red, in being restricted by that mark of 
civilization and trespass, the fence, and by the differ- 
ence of the constitutions of the two people. 

The mistake some white players make, and which 



THE PRESENT GAME. 65 

iias retarded development, is in trying to imitate the 
Indian game to the very letter. Now this is simply 
as absurd as attempting to live as he does. They 
are differently situated, and the most degenerate 
have, as a rule, better inherent constitutions than the 
majority of white men ; and if the present generation 
of them, modified the game from the original to suit 
their present habits and mode of life, how much more 
should we, who are inferior to them in wind and 
endurance, temper it to suit us. A sensible, thor- 
oughly civilized people cannot, and should not, play 
Lacrosse exactly after the manner of the Indian. 
The fact that they may beat the pale-face, is more a 
proof of their superior physical nature, than any 
evidence of their superior science. They play on 
their old principle of war, viz. : to have the most 
men at the critical points of attack and defence, and 
obey no arrangement of any kind. Every Indian 
feels that where the ball is, there he should be, and 
though they do not altogether abandon ^n instinctive 
disposition, the glory of Lacrosse to them is in the 
exciting chases after the ball. The Indian village 
game was not intellectual enough for the whites, and 
needed systematizing; but never let this improve- 



56 THE PRESENT GAME. 

ment be carried to such extreme as to spoil its^ 
extemporaneous peculiarities of jSelding, and the 
general free character, which distinguishes it above 
all other field games. 

However much the game has changed, it cannot 
change much more and retain its charms. Base-ball 
perfected rounders ; cricket, club-ball ; and the laws 
of Lacrosse supplied the deficiencies existing before 
they were formed. The game can never change 
from its present character as it did from its original ; 
it is not desirable that it should. Neither can old 
methods of play ever become useless, unless the 
game becomes so revolutionized that it will no longer 
be the attractive game it is. If old styles of throw- 
ing, dodging and checking were ever good, they can 
never become obsolete ; nor can any developments of 
science ever make a good hard player a nonentity. 
The metamorphosis of tne game was completed when 
the laws were formed; its general character can 
undergo little other change, though the methods of 
play in every department must become more nume- 
rous and improved, as knowledge of the game 
increases. 

That Lacrosse can never be as scientific a game 



THE PRESENT GAME. 67 

as cricket is freely acknowledged ; but that it suffers 
thereby is not believed. The genuine worth of any 
physical recreation is in keeping the physical above 
the mental, for once the mind is paramount to the 
body, the object of bodily exercise is frustrated. 

The science in Lacrosse will be more prominent 
when rough play is ousted, and men learn to play up 
to the strict letter of the law. If this science is to 
be developed, rough brute force play must end ; not 
the hard running, nor the occasional honest shoulder 
encounters, but the slashing and swiping and wound- 
ing hy crosses. 

But supposing it was granted that there is no 
science in the game — can that make it a whit less 
popular, or less healthy ? How much science is there 
in boating, independant of strong arms, and are all 
regattas to be despised ? How much is there in snow- 
shoeing and toboganing — those glorious winter sports 
of Canada, — and who will dare impugn the moon- 
light tramps over Mount Royal, or cast the suspicion 
of a sneer at swift rides down Montmorenci cone ? 

LACROSSE — THE NATIONAL GAME OF CANADA. 

I beheve that I was the first to propose the 



58 THE PRESENT GAME. 

game of Lacrosse as the national game of Canada 
in 1859 ; and a few months preceding the pro- 
clamation of Her Majesty, uniting the Provinces of 
Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, into one 
Dominion, a letter headed " Lacrosse — Our National 
Field Game," published by me in the Montreal 
Daily News^ in April, 1867, was printed oflf and 
distributed throughout the whole Dominion, and was 
copied into many of the public papers. A circular 
giving minute instructions about the game, was after- 
wards distributed, and over sixty answers received 
from parties in all parts of Canada, who were after- 
wards instrumental in organizing clubs. On the day 
which created the greater part of British America a 
Dominion, the game of Lacrosse was adopted as the 
national game, and it was appropriate and auspicious 
that this should be so. The fact that it was to be 
the national game, spread throughout the country, 
and gave it popularity in districts where it had never 
been seen or heard of before, and where other field 
sports had been played for years. Suggestive as the 
spread of the game is of its attractiveness, it must 
also suggest happy ideas of the patriotism of Young 
Canada. 



THE PRESENT GAME. 69 

It may seem frivolous, at first consideration, to 
associate this feeling of nationality with a field game, 
but history proves it to be a strong and important 
influence. Cricket and curling have their national 
and nationalizing influences on their respective admi- 
rers, and so may Lacrosse. Whatever tends to 
cultivate this nationality is no frivolous influence, 
even should it be a boyish sport. 

If the Republic of Greece was indebted to the 
Olympian games ; if England has cause to bless the 
name of cricket, so may Canada be proud of 
Lacrosse. It has raised a young manhood through- 
out the Dominion to active, healthy exercise ; it has 
originated a popular feeling in favor of physical 
exercise, and has, perhaps, done more than anything 
else to invoke the sentiment of patriotism among 
young men in Canada ; and if this sentiment is desi- 
rable abroad, surely it is at home. 



CHAPTER IV. 



HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS OP LACROSSE. 

Nothing adds more to the interest manifested in 
scenery, than its association with remarkable events 
in the history of the country. Such associations 
hover over the Plains of Abraham, Chateauguay, 
Queenstown Heights, and Ridgeway, with a classic 
reminiscence ; sweep away from present view 
noble cities, and revive the dense forest and the 
Indian village. Deadly struggles are re-enacted 
on battle fields where now the clover blooms, and 
"^ lowing herds wind slowly o'er the lea." Old 
chateaux, forts, and windmills bring to mind tradi- 
tional occurences connected with the Indian and 
French regime; and the pure Indian, — ^now a nonen- 
tity — stalks forth in his degenerate posterity, a 
subject of curiosity, but a blot on the escutcheon of 
" pale face " humanity. 

The same associations are interwoven with the 



ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 61 

original game of Lacrosse, in a most thrilling 
tragedy of colonial history, which occurred about 
four months after the signing of the Treaty of 
Peace at Paris in 1763, between the Sovereigns of 
England, France and Spain, — we refer to the sur- 
prise and massacre of the British garrison of Fort 
MichiUimackinac, by a party of Indian Lacrosse 
players, during a grand exhibition game before the 
Fort. 

To thoroughly understand the occurrence we must 
retrace our view to the motives which prompted the 
massacre, — the prologue, as it were, of the tragedy. 

In the contests between England and France for 
•dominion on this continent, the red men ot the forest 
were always found convenient and willing auxiliaries ; 
treacherous and unstable, 'tis true, but faithful in 
following their instinct for war, on whichever side they 
fought. When the country was first discovered, the 
Indian tribes had been at war with each other for 
unknown years ; the arrow and the tomahawk had 
decimated numerous tribes, and the chief end of the 
red skins was to develop the instincts of war, and 
accumulate scalps in preference to the richest furs. 

On the 13th of September, 1759, was fought the 



62 ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 

battle which sealed the fate of Canada, and though 
the colony was virtually conquered when Quebec 
was taken, the French still garrisoned the rest of the 
country. On the 8th of September, 1760, the 
Marquis de Vaudreuil, the last of the French gover- 
nors, signed the capitulation of Canada; and the 
arrival at Montreal on the same day of the three 
armies of Sir Jeffrey Amherst, Col. Haviland, and Gen. 
Murray, consummated the surrender. The western 
outposts, however, still hoisted the fleur de lys^ and 
a provincial officer. Major Robert Rogers, was com- 
missioned by Amherst, on the 12th of September, to 
ascend the lakes with a body of hunters and back- 
woodsmen called '' Rogers' Rangers," and take 
possession in the name of the King of England, of 
Detroit, Michillimackinac, and the other posts includ- 
ed in the capitulation. Rogers coveted the duty 
assigned him ; it suited his mood exactly ; and on the 
13th he left with 200 men in fifteen whale boats, and 
was intercepted where now stands the city of Cleve-^ 
land, Ohio, by Pontiac, the Indian lord of the coun- 
try. Rogers told him of the capitulation and the 
object of his expedition, and Pontiac expressed his 
desire to live at peace with the English, though he 



ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 63 

had been a firm ally of the French. As a tangible 
proof of his sincerity he saved Rogers and his men 
from an impending onslaught of 400 Detroit Indians. 
Arriving at Detroit, where the news of the capitul- 
ation had preceded him, Rogers demanded its sur- 
render, and " the fleur de lys was lowered from the 
flag-staff, and the cross of St. George rose aloft in 
its place, while seven hundred Indian warriors, lately 
the active allies of France, greeted the sight with a 
burst of triumphant yells," The forts Miami, Oua- 
tanon, Michillimackinac, St. Marie, Green Bay and 
St. Joseph were next severally surrendered, and the 
capitulation was complete. 

England had now an opportunity of making her 
dominion permanently secure by a policy of con- 
cihation and probity, but the same blunders of 
government, the same absolute lawlessness and 
unrestrained individual liberty to abuse the natives, 
which hastened the decline of French rule, alienated 
the favor of the Indian from the English, and depriv- 
ed them of moral and physical authority. 

It must be borne in mind that the chain of forts 
extending from Lake Michigan to Niagara were 
built by the French under the pretence that they 



64 ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 

ivere to be used as trading houses, for the mutual 
interest of the government and the natives. From 
these forts the Indians derived inestimable advan- 
tages. Jesuit missionaries worked themselves into 
the sympathies of the Indians ; French officers and 
soldiers appeared to assimilate themselves to manj 
of their wild habits, and, like Frontenac, occasionally 
arrayed themselves in the garb of Indian warriors, 
and joined in the war dance with that art of accom- 
modation so illustrative of French character. " The 
French became savages," says Charlevois, " instead 
of the savages becoming French." French com- 
merce ornamented every wigwam ; the mirrors of 
Paris pleased the vanity while they reflected the 
features of stately warrior and dark-eyed squaw ; 
yet French power was never relaxed, for while they 
courted the favor of the natives they showed their 
might, and while " caressing with one hand held a 
drawn sword in the other." Indian vanity and love 
for '^ presents" was sagaciously fed; the novelties 
of Europe were lavishly distributed ; even guns, 
ammunition and clothing were given with a genero- 
sity which won the heart of the red-skin. A French- 
man might have slept as soundly and securely in 



ASSOCIATIOiNTS OF LACROSSE, 65 

any Indian wigwam as on the softest couch of " la 
belle France." 

With the change of dominion came a change of 
conduct. No longer were the forts attractive : the 
Indians were snubbed and abused by the red-coats ? 
their savage conceit and dignity was outraged and 
contemned. English fur traders .cheated them; 
settlers invaded their best lands, and cut down their 
forests. ''Who goes there?" and a musket at the 
charge was now the orthodox reception at the forts ; 
conciliation was turned to insult, flattery to repulsion, 
and the usual "presents" altogether ceased. The 
difference was not so much a premeditated invention 
of the government to injure the Indian, as it was a 
difference in the nature of the new rulers. The 
Enghsh were blunt and stern, because it was their 
nature ; they truckled to no one ; asked no favours 
and gave none. There was an element of diplomacy, 
however, in the French conduct towards the Indians, 
which served them better than resort to the logic of 
the bayonet, and it would have been wiser for British 
supremacy, and have averted several disasters which 
followed the defeat of the French, had their con- 
ciliatory policy been adopted. 



66 ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 

By active misrepresentation the French added fuel 
to the flame of Indian discontent. The tribes were 
incited by them to take up arms, under the fear of be- 
ing exterminated by the Enghsh ; and were assured 
that the armies of the King of France, were on their 
way up the St. Lawrence and Mississippi, to defend 
a^nd aid them, and, what seemed the most moving 
argument, to bring them ship loads of " presents." 
Indeed, we have always thought that there was 
isomething of French diplomacy and generalship in 
the conspiracy which has been named after and 
attributed to Pontiac. It has always seemed to us as 
if it was too comprehensive, too methodical, too vast 
for his conception ; and though he was made the 
responsible instrument of its accompUshment, it 
exhibits the genius of a master mind in tactics, a 
flavor of Napoleonic strategy ; as if the generalship 
which failed to preserve the country had conceived a 
brilliant plan of revenge. 

Several plots to destroy the Enghsh garrisons 
between 1761 and 1762 were discovered and frus- 
trated ; but at the close of the latter year, was 
planned the " Conspiracy of Pontiac." 

Pontiac was the great high chief of the Ottawas, 



ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 67 

and head of the confederacy formed by that tribe, 
the Ojibways and Pottawattamies. He is repre- 
sented as of the average height, very dark red 
complexion, bold and determined expression: and 
when we remember that the Indian chief had no 
legal authority over his men ; that, though he was 
followed and acknowledged as leader, there was none 
of that respect and distinction which exists between 
the officers and men of an army, we may have some 
idea of his pre-eminent ability. None of his con- 
temporaries or imitators were equal to him, or ever 
held such sway. Eighteen nations chose him as 
their united leader : his individuality was marked ; 
he was Pontiac and no one else. His speeches, if 
correctly reported, — which we doubt of all Indian 
^speeches, — prove him to have been of a higher sphere 
of thought than his race has usually produced ; but 
he was as genuine a savage as ever trod the forest, 
or scalped a skull. There was a contagion in his 
courage, and his greatness raised the reputation 
for valor of the tribes who fought with him ; but we 
believe that the influence of the French, and the 
powers they brought to bear upon him, had much to 
do in training a character which has been made 



68 ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 

SO famous in the annals of Indian history and the 
early associations of Lacrosse. 

The war belt of black and purple wampum had 
been sent to all the nations of the Ohio and its 
tributaries, the upper lakes, the borders of the river 
Ottawa, and the mouth of the Mississippi, and with 
the exception of the Iroquois confederacy — except the 
Senecas who joined the rest, — all the tribes accepted 
the invitation and prepared for war. Pontiac held 
several councils of the warriors ; the plans were 
discussed and decided upon, but nothing was said of 
the ball-play snare. It would seem as if that portion 
of the plan was a new ruse decided upon after 
the failure of the first attempt upon Detroit ; as 
the scheme there tried, and which was frustrated 
through the revelations of an Ojibway girl, was 
to obtain admittance to the fort, and during a council 
meeting, suddenly fall upon and massacre the officers, 
while the Indians outside would fall upon the 
garrison. The next afternoon, to calm the appre- 
hensions of the garrison, Pontiac summoned the 
players of the different tribes to a game of ball, 
on the common adjacent to the fort; and it is 
possible that it was this occasion which suggested the 



ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 69 

l)all-play ruse. On the following morning (9th of 
May) he sought entrance to the fort for himself and 
all his warriors, but was refused such a carte hlanche^ 
though offered a personal admittance. Seeing his 
designs thus detected, he forgot dissimulation, and 
with a savage expression on his face, turned and 
left, while his warriors, yelling like fiends, took 
immediate revenge by massacring the few English 
settlers who lived near the fort and its vicinity. 
Pontiac, however, had no hand in this, as he had 
crossed the river in a canoe to the Ottawa vil- 
lage, where he gave vent to his threats of ven- 
geance. 

A general attack now ensued, and the inmates 
of the chain of forts had a sleepless time, and a 
terrible fate in view ; but " Britons, you know," said 
a letter from Detroit, " never shrink. We always 
appeared gay to spite the rascals." 

Passing over the rout of Lieut. Cuyler's detach- 
ment, and the capture of Forts Sandusky, St. Joseph, 
Ouatanon, Miami, Presqu Isle, and the posts of Le 
Poeuf and Venago, Niagara not having been attacked, 
and Pittsburgh having been saved by Col. Bradstreet, 
let us take up the thread of our narrative at 



70 ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 

Michillimackinac, the third of the fated garrisons to 
fall. 

The ancient route to Michillimackinac, and 
the one followed in 1763 by the English fur 
traders was up the Ottawa, and along a suc- 
cession of small lakes and rivers ; or by Detroit 
and the lakes of St. Clair and Huron. Some years 
ago, Parkman made a personal examination of 
that fort, where, says he, " the stumps of the pickets 
and the foundations of the houses may still be 
traced." Michillimackinac — an Algonquin word, 
signifying the Great Turtle, and applied also to a 
neighboring island — was one of the three and most 
important northern posts, founded by the French at 
an early date, as a military key and a centre for the 
fur trade from the Mississippi and the North-west. 
The Jesuits had a mission there in 1671. Early in 
the spring of 1763, Pontiac had invited the Ojibways 
of Michillimackinac to join him in the great con- 
spiracy, and they eagerly accepted. 

It was impossible that such a grand scheme could 
mature without detection, but the English officers 
treated the rumours brought to them by friendly 
Indians and Canadians, with extraordinary unconcern 



ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 71 

and sang f void. None of the forts had better warn- 
ing of the threatening danger than Michillimackinac. 
A Canadian told Capt. Etherington, the command- 
ant, the whole plan ; and Henry the trader, to whose 
" Travels" we are" much indebted for the particulars 
of the massacre, was personally warned by an 
Algonquin, named Wawatam. Henry communicated 
the warning to the commandant, but the latter paid 
it no regard whatever. 

At the time of which we write the fort was 
occupied by thirty-five men of H. M. 55th and 80th 
regiments, and other inhabitants to the number of 
about ninety souls. The Indians at Michillimackinac 
had more freedom of intercourse with the fort than at 
any of the other posts. They strolled in and out at 
leisure, and though challenged after dusk, they were 
free to enter during the day. On the afternoon 
previous to the massacre it was full of Ojibways and 
Ottawas, professing unusual friendship. 

The garrison was never more profoundly at peace 
than on the early morning of the 4th of June, 1763. 
It was the birthday of King George ; and here, 
in the heart of the forest, the love of country 
and sovereign was that day to be celebrated : the 



72 ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 

soldiers were allowed more freedom than usual, w^hile 
Indians and a multitude of their squaws and children 
flocked about the doors and gate. 

An invitation of apparent friendliness from the 
Ojibways was sent to the fort, to witness a grand 
game of haggataway^ as Lacrosse was then called, 
between them and the Sacs, on the plain in front. 
They had played it very often before among them- 
selves for the amusement of the garrison, but this 
game was intended to be especially interesting in 
honor of the day. The gates were opened wide ; the 
soldiers were lying and standing about in groups in 
undress — the majority without arms. Capt. Ether- 
ington and Lieut. Leslie were standing close to the 
gate, — the latter betting that the Ojibways would win. 
The cross of St. George floated proudly from the 
flag-staff, and the little garrison felt that though 
thousands of miles from home, they could honor the 
birthday of their king. Indian warriors, French, 
and a large number of squaws were mixed up in 
little groups, lying and sitting on the ground near 
the fort. 

The players, nearly naked, and each carrying one 
of the sticks shown on page 11, separated from 



ASSOCIATIONS OF LACEOSSE. 73 

the crowd and spread out over the plain. A single 
post was planted for goal ; and without further 
ceremony, one of the chiefs advanced to the centre, 
flung up the ball, and at once retreated. Imme- 
diately a wild scene of struggling and confusion 
ensued, as the little bone of contention was struck at, 
caught, carried and thrown from one side to the 
other. Every player yelled at the top of his voice, 
and with frantic leaps and dashes, chased and fought 
for the ball, tumbling over each other, kicking, 
and wrestling with might and main. The spectators 
roared with laughter ; the garrison forgot all else 
but watching the sport. Several times the ball shot 
high into the air, and descending fell inside the 
pickets, much to the delight of the garrison, who 
then had a near view of the struggle. Gradually 
the body of players neared the fort, pell-mell after 
the ball. Suddenly it again soared into the air, and 
fell near the pickets of the fort, while the players 
made a rush to the gate, followed by the warriors 
who were spectators ; the war whoop rang over the 
plain ; the ball-sticks were flung away ; the squaws 
threw open their blankets, and the players snatched 
the tomahawks and other weapons they had concealed 



74 ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 

there. Led by Minavavana — a man of fifty years of 
age, le Grand Sauteur, or Great Ojibway as he was 
called by the French — they fell upon the defenceless 
garrison, cutting down the soldiers and traders with- 
out mercy. Not a Frenchman, many of whom stood 
calmly looking on, was touched. Henry, who gives a 
vivid description of the scene, witnessed the fate of 
several of his countrymen. " Capt. Etherington and 
" Lieut. Leslie were seized and led away to the 
" woods. Lieut. Jamet was instantly killed, and fifteen 
*' rank and file, and a trader named Tracy. They 
" wounded two, and took the rest of the garrison pri- 
" soners, five of whom they have since killed. They 
" made prisoners of all the English traders, and rob- 
" bed them of everything they had." About twenty 
men escaped the massacre. While the joy-bells in 
England rang out in honor of King George, one little 
band of loyal men in the wilds of America, thus 
perished in cold blood in the uniform of His Majesty. 
Fortunately for those taken prisoners, the Ottawas, 
who were jealous because the Ojibways attacked 
the fort without asking them to share in the 
onslaught, took Capt. Etherington, Lieut. LesHe, and 
eleven men from the latter. They were afterwards 



ASSOCIATIONS OF LACROSSE. 75 

released, and on the 18th of July left L'Arbe Coche^ 
and arrived in Montreal on the 12th of August. 

We will not follow the campaigns under Bouquet 
and Bradstreet to subdue the Indians. Between 
fighting and treaty making, peace was eventually 
declared, and the spirit of the red-skin broken. 



CHAPTER V. 



MATERIALS FOR PLAY — RUNNING AND TRAINING. 
THE CROSSE, &C. 



The Canadian Indians claim to have invented the 
present Crosse long before Jacques Cartier came to 
Canada. When the French first saw the game they 
gave it the name of La Crosse^ the bat ; and it is 
worthy of note that the use of the present shaped 
stick seems to have been almost entirely confined to 
Canada. 




1. Tip. 

2. Top. 

3. Bend. 

4. Collar or Peg. 

5. Butt. 



6. Leading string. 

A. Head surface of netting. 

B. Centre surface of netting. 

C. Lower angle. 



The Crosse is made of ash, hickory, rock-elm, 
or basswood, and, like the other aboriginal con- 
structions, such as the bark canoe, the snow-shoe and 



MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 77 

tobogan, was made entirely from the productions of 
the chase and the forest, until deer-skin became 
scarce and the Indian domestic, — when the skin of 
the cow or the horse supplied the material for the 
netting. An Indian goes into the woods, cuts a load 
of green boughs, or young trees — which are split 
in four ; bends them, while green, to the required 
shape around a wooden model, or between two logs, 
or in a hole, fastens a piece of cat-gut or birch 
bark from the tip to the collar or peg, to preserve 
the bend, and lets them season; or if the wood is 
already seasoned, it is bent by steaming. The 
Indians prefer hickory because of its strength, but 
unless it is light, ash or rock elm is better adapted for 
the purpose. Poor, cheap sticks are a snare : good 
sticks should be free from knots. 

In bending the stick the incurvation of the bend 
should be regulated either by a wooden model or by 
the eye. The laws of Lacrosse now limit the width 
of the widest part to one foot, but nine inches is 
perhaps more serviceable and convenient for every 
purpose ; though a goal-keeper may take advantage 
of the outside limit. A slight outward bend should 
be given to the middle. The part of the top of the 



78 MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 

curve which touches the ground in picking up should 
be shaved or filed off, either previous to or after weav- 
ing. There is no restriction upon the length of the 
stick, but the measurement most likely to suit all 
parties is from the toe, close into the hollow under 
either arm. A long stick is better for long and hard 
throwing, and for general play, providing the player 
can manage it ; but the disadvantage is, that the 
-weight is increased, and that the length impedes 
ground frisking, and is more exposed to checks in 
dodging. Goal-keeper, hoAvever, should never have a 
crosse longer than the toe and arm-pit measurement. 
The circumference of the stick should be about 3J 
inches in its thickest part ; the back part, which is 
pierced for the netting, should be shaved flat about a 
quarter of an inch wide on both sides of the holes. All 
trimming should be completed before commencing to 
weave. Care must be taken not to sacrifice strength 
to appearance. A curve too thin is sure to crack at 
the holes, and some fine morning collapse. The butt 
may be bound with waxed cord or chamois, to give a 
firm grasp, and prevent concussion. 

After the stick is bent, and before the string is 
fastened to retain it in place until seasoned, a hole 



MATERIALS FOK PLAY. 79 

should be bored and a peg inserted, or what is, 
perhaps, better, the stick should be so trimmed as 
to leave a collar at figure 4, where the length 
strings are to terminate. The netting should be 
about twenty-nine inches long. About thirteen 
holes, two and a half inches apart, are now bored for 
the length and side strings, about a quarter of an inch 
from the inside of the wood, and exactly in the centre 
of the shaved surface. These holes should begin 
about an inch and a half from the tip, and stop at 
about nine or ten inches from the collar. The 
stick is then ready for weaving, after seasoning. 

WHICH SIDE OF THE CROSSE TO USE. 

Before commencing to weave, decide upon the side 
of the stick which you will use. Holding it in your 
right hand, the right side is that which is uppermost 
when the tip of the curve is to the right. Reverse 
it, and you bring the tip to the left, and the left side 
uppermost. There are as many plausible reasons for 
using the one side as the other. Some maintain that 
there is less danger of being checked in dodging, and 
more ease and accuracy in throwing, by using the 
left side ; but on the other hand, as many maintain 



80 MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 

the same advantage for the right. In the carried 
dodge from right to left, described in Sect. 1 on 
Dodging, the netting is more exposed to damage 
from the usual front check ; and as this is about the 
only carried dodge much practised by the Indians, we 
may attribute to this their general use of the left side 
of the Crosse. Another good argument in favor of 
the left side in dodging, is that in the movement from 
right to left the ball finds a better guard from 
slipping, as it is close to the stick ; while when held 
on the right side in this movement, it is altogether 
controlled by the wrist and arm in carrying. 
Personally we prefer the right side, as we never 
could make the ball run close to the stick in throwing 
from the left side. In facing. Centre is obliged to 
place the right side of the netting against the ball, 
and it seems awkward that in case of a slip, where 
the crosse has to be used as in close play, that he 
should have to reverse his stick or play at a 
disadvantage. It is more convenient, too, to have 
the angular ridge suggested for the Centre's crosse, 
on the side with which he plays. However, many 
good players who use the left side maintain that they 
make the ball run close to the wood in throwing ; and 



MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 81 

the most natural side for each player is the only 
rule. 

WEAVING. 

The material used for weaving must be '' cat-gut." 
(See Rule 1, Sec. 1.) Formerly it was customary 
to use cord, leather thongs, and moccasin strings, 
and we have seen stay laces, boot laces and tape 
utilized for the same purpose. The cat-gut, if good, 
will be transparent after being prepared in a solution 
of potash and water. It should be cut into straight 
strips of uniform thickness, and soaked in water for a 
few minutes before weaving. The longest strings 
are used first, and the weaving may be commenced 
by catching at the collar or peg, passing through the 
tip hole, across to the second hole, down to the collar 
or peg, up to the third hole, and so on until the 
length strings are completed. The inter-weaving is 
then done by continuing sideways, twisting the gut in 
a half knot as it has to cross any length string. It 
is much cheaper to buy than to make a crosse, but 
every player should learn to weave a netting for 
himself, as the Indian manufacturers make a hide go 
a long way, and have no conscientious scruples 



82 MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 

about sending miserable gut into market. The 
strongest material we have ever met for the nettings 
and which may be used alone or interwoven with the 
regular material, is the clock gut used for clock 
weights, and which seems to last longer than 
anything else. 

The length strings should be made so tight as to 
prevent the possibility of the netting bagging. The 
" bag" was instituted by bad players who were fond 
of dodging, and too lazy or unskilful to learn the art 
of managing the ball on a flat netting. The difficulty 
lay in defining a bag, but every player instinctively 
knows one. There is no such thing in a new crosse ; 
and, to induce players not to bag, it was agreed 
years ago by the Montreal and Beaver Clubs to use 
a leading string resting upon the top of the stick. 

When the leading string was first proposed it was 
also suggested to make a certain concavity, below 
which it would be illegal to bag, thus meeting the 
baggists half way ; but this was clearly seen to be 
impossible with the pliable substance used for weaving, 
and the length of surface exposed to alteration by the 
vicissitudes of play and damp weather. It would be 
far easier to lay down a rule for the mathematical 



MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 83 

exactness of the curve and dimensions of the stick 
than for the concavity of the netting ; because the 
latter loses its original shape in using, especially when 
wet, and would not retain any original concavity half 
an hour. Picture the confusion when several Crosses 
would bag below a restricted depth after a game had 
commenced. The men might present a netting per- 
fectly flat, before the Umpires, and, when their backs 
are turned, let out the length strings and make a 
bag of any depth. There would be many more 
disputes on this point, if such a law was made, than 
there ever can be as the law now stands. No player 
should own a Crosse suspected of bagging. Prettier 
and more scientific play is made with a flat surface. 
The improvements in general play commenced when 
the old bag was repudiated. 

THE GOALS. 

Two goals are required. Two flags constitute a 
goal; colors generally scarlet and blue, sometimes 
very handsomely worked in gold and embroidery. 
The flag-poles should have iron spikes about two 
inches long to sink into the ground. The distance 
from one goal to the other should be proportioned by 



84 MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 

the number of players ; two hundred yards is a fair 
length for twelve players a side. 

THE GOAL CREASE 

should be distinctly drawn with chalk or the butt of 
a Crosse. 

THE GROUND. 

The more level the ground the more pleasant ; 
but one may see Lacrosse played in Montreal in 
lanes, yards, unmacadamized streets, on hills and 
in rocky valleys. The fewer the stones and the 
shorter the grass the better. The ground does not 
absolutely need rolling or preparation of any kind ; 
but level grounds develop fine play. Lacrosse may be 
played on ice on skates, or on the snow. The size 
and nature of the ground changes the character of 
the game. Men with good wind, who run well, will 
prefer a long field ; but the real science in Lacrosse, 
and the beauty and skill of close contests, will be 
sooner developed on a field where the men are often 
brought near together. 

THE BALL. 

The circumference of the ball is about half an inch 
less than a cricket ball, and weighs about four ounces, 



MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 85 

less two pennyweights. The weight of balls of the 
size and quality defined by the laws is nearly always 
the same. Solid rubber was discarded some years 
ago as being too heavy. Just before the sun rises, 
and at dusk, there is a grey misty haze over the 
ground, and the ball can scarcely be seen in its 
rapid aerial or terrestrial flight. No goal-keeper 
can stop balls under such circumstances. Would 
not white rubber balls be an improvement? A 
white speck can be easily seen on the ground when 
black is invisible. Painting a black ball white is 
only a temporary expedient, as the paint soon wears 
off. 

DRESS OF THE PLAYER. 

It has always been the fashion to wear a light 
dress, and though we would not advocate the nudity 
of the original players, we think the less and lighter 
the dress the better. The respective sides in a 
match should have a distinguishing dress, easily 
particularized at first glance. Flannel cap, or Have- 
lock — though some say the latter is an impediment 
to running, and we know in running races boys 
always pitch away their caps — tight shirt, knicker- 
bockers, v/ooUen stockings, and moccasins, sandals, 



86 MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 

light shoes or rubbers, complete the costume. The 
Montreal and some other Clubs sport pretty jackets, 
Tbut we disapprove of any covering over a tight fitting 
shirt. Belts are worn, but we hope some one will 
introduce instead a light variegated Canadian sash. 
Gloves are not to be sneered at. Driving gloves, 
which should protect the wrist from blows, are the 
best. The palm may be cut out sufiiciently to give 
a good grasp. 

RUNNING AND TRAINING. 

It would be a weakly game of Lacrosse that would 
be played by one legged men, as cricket is sometimes 
indulged in between the one leg'd and one arm'd 
veterans of Greenwich Hospital. A gouty foot, a 
rheumatic limb, and even the minor affliction of 
corns and bunions, are the greatest impediment to 
Lacrosse players. Though there are desperate men 
who esteem their legs above brains in the game, it 
must be admitted that unless a man's lower ex- 
tremities from hip to heel, and indeed the whole man 
externally and internally, are in prime condition to 
dash down a common at the rate of a hundred yards 
in thirteen seconds, and keep it up at intervals, at 



MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 87 

the rate of four or more miles a match, he has little 
chance of getting on our crack " Twelves," unless 
his hobby is goal keeping or " home." So much of 
the success of a player depends upon his legs that 
they must be in good condition, requiring a special 
education in the art of sudden leaping and springing, 
and of suddenly arresting the speed, which the 
practice of ordinary running does not give. The 
directions laid down in the various works for position 
in running cannot apply to a man carrying the ball 
on a Crosse, checked and impeded by numerous 
opponents at all points ; but the general principles 
are the same. A good runner is always an ac- 
quisition, providing he masters the real art of 
play, but is too common a delusion to believe, that 
because one has gained a reputation for pedestrianism 
or snow-shoe racing, he is peculiarly fitted to 
make a good Lacrosse player. As well expect a 
cavalry squad to be able to dismount and master the 
velocipede. 

TRAINING. 

Training a " Twelve " has never to our knowledge 
been systematically applied by any Club, though it is 
quite as important in Lacrosse as in boating or 



88 MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 

cricket. Individual separate training as systemati- 
cally as laid down in books on the subject, applied 
to Lacrosse, is not only inconvenient for the large 
majority of players, but decidedly inadvisable; but 
every one can avoid excesses of living, eat plain 
strengthening food, retire and rise early, and exercise 
sufficiently to develop a fair amount of wind and 
endurance. For ordinary play, however, absolute 
training is unnecessary, if the man lives anyway 
reasonably. The nature of Lacrosse is such that it 
will not permit " first Twelve " men to Uve immorally. 
Indulgence in liquor and tobacco tell on the wind 
and muscle, especially in America. The nut-brown 
ale of England, home-brewed in inns historical, is a 
different thing to the bottled trash and barrelled 
bitterness imported or made and sold in Canada. 
The less we know of their taste the better. We can 
only recall to mind one or two instances where 
players "finished off" after practice by a spree; and 
they went to the dogs, and would have gone sooner, 
we dare say, but for their indulgence in a game 
which occupied and utilized a share of their leisure. 

Before a match, players should nurse themselves 
by temperance and gentle exercise. A night's 



MATERIALS FOR PLAY. 89 

dissipation will counteract a fortnight's trainings 
and the finest pace may be killed by a champagne 
supper. 

Apart from individual training to develop and 
perfect the individual body, we would impress upon 
" Twelves " the advisability of practical training 
together, to perfect each other in individual positions, 
to combine and equalize their action, and to establish 
mutual confidence. Our theory is that young player 
should be taught progressively a systematic squad 
drill, beginning with picking up and mastering the 
ball on the Crosse, until they know the principles of 
throwing, catching, checking, &c. ; and that the 
twelve selected to play on a match should all play on 
one side at practice as much as possible. Let them 
take gentle trots together of a quarter of a mile to 
begin with for a few mornings; then dashes of a 
hundred and two hundred yards as hard as they can 
go ; then longer runs of two or four miles. Let 
them practice a little the art of bringing up suddenly 
while at full speed, turning around suddenly and 
dashing back, turning to either side-face and dashing 
sideways. 



CHAPTER VI. 

POSTING AND DIRECTING THE PLAYERS. 

The men of each side should be posted and directed 
by the players who tossed up, if they are competent, 
or by the regular captains. The best way is to have 
two regularly appointed captains in a club, who 
always take opposite sides. No one captain can 
do justice to both sides. 

The players most generally take up their positions 
sans ceremonie^ but we would suggest the following 
prelude : After the sides are chosen, and goals 
selected, each captain draws his men up, facing each 
other in the centre of the field, and dresses them as 
companies in line. The men intended for the attack, 
and those for the defence, should be on the flank 
nearest to their posts. The two centres, who should 
be in the centre of the lines, step out and prepare for 
facing. At the words " take posts " from the senior 



POSTING AND DIRECTING THE PLAYERS. 



91 



captain, the men run to their positions ; and when all 
are in place, the ball is started. 

The manner of posting the men at the beginning 
of a game can have, and needs no absolute rule, as 
everything depends upon the strength or weakness of 
the respective sides, the size of the ground, and a 
variety of seen and unforeseen circumstances. The 
following diagram illustrates the arrangement gene- 
rally in favor with the Montreal Club : — 



1^ 



LJ 



o o 
O 



W 



pq 



c3 
^ eg 



A.— Goal-keeper. 
B.— Point. 
C — Cover Point. 
D— Field. 
E— Fiel^. 
F.— Centre. 



G.-Field. 
H.-Do. 
I.- Do. 
J.- Dr. 
K.-Do. 
li.— Home. 



It will be seen that there are seven in favor of the 
attack, and only five for defence, in anticipation of 
the ball being taken by the Montreal centre and 



92 POSTING AND DIRECTING THE PLAYERS. 

passing the defence half of the field. If Centre 
loses it, the balance of power is preserved by the 
retreat of one or more of the attack, according to the 
fluctuations of the game. When there are more than 
twelve men a-side, the links are nearer: the proportion 
remaining in favor of the attack. Light, active men 
are the best for the attack ; heavy men for defence. 
Occasionally this rule may be reversed, but rarely. 
The most important positions are those of the imme- 
diate attack and defence, and, perhaps, Nestor's plan 
of drawing up troops, might serve to illustrate the 
tactics for Lacrosse, — the best men first and last, and 
the weakest in the middle. It is difficult to define 
or particularize " the best man " in a Lacrosse field, 
as each one has his forte ; but the positions in the 
attack and defence develop a reliableness of play, 
which is not always seen in fielding, where the men 
may expeirment and venture more, without equal risk. 
There is no greater delusion in Lacrosse clubs than 
to suppose, that because a man has made some mark 
as a player, he is competent to act as captain. There 
is a combination of mental and physical qualifications 
required of him, something parallel to those of a good 
general. His ability to throw to perfection, to check 



POSTING AND DIRECTING THE PLAYERS. 93 

and dodge, no more qualifies him for a captain, than 
the most thorough knowledge of drill does a soldier 
for a commander. Directing the men during the 
fluctuations of a game is mainly a peculiar mental 
occupation, and needs something beyond the physical 
attributes of a player. The principles practised by 
him in play are no criterion for his conduct as cap- 
tain. The individual and collective positions of his 
own men, as well as his opponents, in the various 
evolutions necessary te attack and defence, require 
to be constantly watched and checked. A captain 
must know the name of every player of his side, and 
their special characteristics. Some men are reliable, 
others risky, others unfortunate. A captain's tactics 
must depend greatly upon the temperament of his 
men. Wellington used deployed hnes two deep when 
he had British troops, but at Waterloo he formed the 
Hessian infantry in columns. With men who thoroughly 
understand and practice " tacking," or playing to 
each other, successful movements may be made w^hich 
would be disaster with raw or egotistic players. 

In playing Indians, it is always best not to be 
independent, but rather to post the men to check 
their arrangement, as they dispose themselves without 



94 POSTING AND DIRECTING THE PLAYERS. 

relation to their white opponents, and are constantly 
on the move to get away from the vicinity of checks. 

The freedom of movement necessary in following 
the ball, prevents posting the men with the same 
exactitude as in cricket. The positions hardly ever 
remain the same one minute ; they are altered many 
times during a match, to push advantages and 
frustrate attacks. 

When the game is hard against a side, its captain 
may require to change his men by bringing certain 
players to the defence, and placing others nearer home. 
It may be necessary to put some certain men in the 
vicinity of certain opponents ; but never allow your 
men to dog or cling to the heels of an opponent in 
every step, like a pickpocket, or a Fenian assassin. 

When a captain's attack is good, and his side has 
a marked advantage all through, the fixed points 
may be more ubiquitous, and fewer men left for the 
defence. When the opponents change their disposi- 
by crowding in defence or attack, a good captain may 
see many opportunities for drawing away some of the 
points, by a careful and quick extension of his men, 
when one of his side gets the ball. The men should 
not be left to themselves in such a predicament. 



POSTING AND DIRECTING THE PLAYERS. 95 

A captain must put his voice at its most distinct 
pitch. To order with brevity is important. If a 
man is seen straying away from a certain opponent 
towards whom the ball is coming, the captain should 
call out the name of the man, and follow with the 
words " check right " or " left," as the case maybe. 
If there is a certainty of a dodger losing the ball, 
the man's name should be called out, and followed by 
the words " throw ;" defining any particular point 
or man to be thrown to in as few sharp words as 
possible. Indeed, a captain's duties in a match are 
so onerous and important, that he should be a 
practical player and have a good knowledge of the 
game all through. We wonder that from the 
ranks, better men have not arisen to make this a 
specialty. 

The following suggestion for a Club Registrar for 
matches is submitted here, to form part of a captain's 
duties, or of a special scorer. We have often wished 
for some record of our early matches on the green, 
and we think this Register would not only be of 
lasting interest to Clubs, but, perhaps, tend to check 
rough and foul play, when men know that it would 
permanently chronicle their reprimands. 



96 



POSTING AND DIRECTING THE PLAYERS. 



CLUB versus 



Match Played at 



Date 



18 





Names of Players. 


Positions. 


Foul Play Declared. 






Goal-Keeper. 


Against Club. 


Against Clrjb. 


1 


1st Game. 


1st Game. 


2 




Point. 


2nd do. 


2nd do. 


3 




COVER-POINT. 


3rd do. 


3rd do. 


4 




Home. 


4th d \ 


4th do. 


5 




Centre. 


5th do. 


5th do. 

SIGNS. 


6 




Fielder. 


SUSPEiq 


7 




Do. 


Club. 


Club. 


8 




Do. 










Do. 






9 


UMPIRES. 


10 




Do. 










Do. 




11 


REFEREE. 






Do. 




12 














EESULT. 


REMARKS. 


1st Game won by 


Time, 




2nd do. do. 


do 




3rd do. do. 


do 




4th do. do. 


do 




5th do. do. 


do 





CHAPTER VII. 



FACING. 



The present manner of opening the game of 
Lacrosse is supposed to have originated soon after 
the introduction of the present shaped stick, and has 
no resemblance to the beginning of any other game. 
There was no chance for skill in the old methods of 
facing — in the ball laid on the ground or thrown up 
in the air, and the general rush and scramble. That 
there is considerable knack and art in taking the ball 
at present, is proved by the proficiency attained by 
Centres who practise particularly for this part of 
early play. A few years ago the Indians oftener 
had it their own way than now; and when they 
succeed at all at the present time with our best 
white facers, it is more by an anticipatory ruse than 
any superior skill. They cannot wait for the sound 
''play." 

H 



98 FACING. 

The game is commenced as follows : The Centre of 
each side face each other in the middle of the field, 
crossing their sticks (as shown in Illustration Ist,) 
with the ball on the ground between them. At the 
beginning of the face, the sticks should be almost 
level with the ground. The illustration represents 
the second action, when the struggle for the ball has 
commenced. At the last sound of the words, 
^' Ready — Play," from the senior captain, the men 
strive to take the ball in the best manner they know 
liow. 

The crosse of the Centre should have an angular 
ridge from near the top of the curve to within a foot 
of the collar on the right side. It should not extend 
beyond the first of the length strings nearest the 
wood ; and the top of the ridge should be in the 
centre, or if anything, a little nearest the outside part 
of the stick. Lay the ball on the ground, place the 
stick beside it as in facing, and you will see the 
object of this ridge, and will understand why some 
novices succeed in taking the ball away every time 
from older players. If your crosse is flat, or per- 
fectly round at the part where the ridge should be, 
it will hardly have any catch to hook the ball ; but 



PACING. 99 . 

the ridge is not only a perfect catch for the up and 
over-take (Sect. 1,) but a guard against slipping, 
for all methods of facing. It must be gradually 
bevelled off towards the top of the curve, so as not to 
interfere with picking up. 

Centre should avoid assuming any unnatural 
position, or kneeling on one knee, as if at the 
" Eeady," to receive cavalry. There can be no 
absolute rule laid down about position ; a man may 
stand on his head if he likes, providing he finds it 
his best way ; but one rule should guide the Centre, 
and that is, not to get into a position for facing, 
which checks or impedes elasticity and spring for 
completing the face, making the best of an advantage 
gained, or an opportunity lost. 

Ist Position.— A favorite position of some Centres 
is to grasp above the collar of the crosse with the 
right hand, the left hand at the butt. The right leg is 
advanced, and the right elbow leveraged against the 
inside of the advanced knee. This is principally 
used for the up and over-take, and other forcible 
methods of facing. 

2nd Position.— The usual Indian style, and the 
one which we beUeve infinitely the best adapted to 



100 FACING. 

develope variety and skill, is the contrary position : 
an inch or two above the collar grasped by the left 
hand, the butt by the right, the left leg advanced. In 
both positions the body inclines forward from the 
hips easily, and ready for instant action. 

The objections to position first are, that it is only 
safer than the other for forcible methods of facing ; 
that it does not allow of as free action and spring as 
the other ; that the butt of the crosse is more likely 
to interfere with the body ; that it takes the right 
hand from the natural grasp at the butt, which 
should be avoided as much as possible, and that it 
actually prevents several methods of facing not much 
practised, but nevertheless calculated to be as often 
successful, if not more so, than forcible methods now 
mostly in vogue. When we see a Centre stand and 
grasp as in position first, we are almost sure that he 
intends to take the ball by the up and over or some 
forcible method ; but in the other position, while a 
Centre can accomplish the up and over, he is in an 
attitude for others of more variety. However, the 
best method for any Centre is his most natural or his 
most successful ; though we hope no one will be 
above giving up an old method if he discovers a better. 



FACING. 101 

The following are the most effective ways of getting 
the best of it in opening the game ; though facing is 
not learned by study as much as by patient practice : — 

1. Up and Over — Is primarily a feat of strength, 
and is done best in the first position. It is compara- 
tively independent of the backward spring used in 
other methods. The ball is fairly lifted up and over 
the opponent's crosse by the ridge before described, 
firmly pressing the crosse against the opposing crosse. 

2. The Indian, — We call this the Indian to ^dis" 
tinguish it as the general favorite of the red-skin. 
It is partly a feat of strength of arm and trick of 
crosse. The Centre stands in the second position. 
The face is done by quickly drawing your crosse 
towards you and the ball with it, and hooking it from 
your opponent by the side of the bend ; at the same 
time making a sudden retrograde spring from the 
pft foot. The whole length of the crosse, from the 
bend to the butt, may be level with the ground, and 
a rise made when hooking the ball, at the same time 
turning the handle out to the right to prevent your 
opponent hooking it. The position in this face may 
be changed by standing more erect, with the handle 
of the crosse sloping. 



102 FACING. 

3. The Tip. — So called, because the ball is 
taken with the tip, the Centre standing in position 
second. At the sound of the last word give 
the handle of your crosse a strong quick twist 
outwards from left to right, covering the ball with 
the top surface of the netting, the tip pointing 
to the left. The ball is caught close to the wood, 
and drawn to the right, or between your legs by a 
strong, quick jerk. In this, as in the succeeding 
methods of facing, care must be taken to keep the 
crosse as close to the ball as possible, in every part of 
the movement. 

4. Reverse Tip — Is an extension of the Tip, and 
is done by continuing the twist, strongly pressing the 
tip to your opponent's crosse to force a space in his 
netting, until the tip of your crosse is upon the ball, 
when you tip it to your right. In this movement the 
crosse is entirely reversed from the original position 
in facing, the tip pointing downwards and the bend 
upwards. 

5. Flat Face — Is done by turning your crosse 
from right to left, covering the ball with the head or 
centre surface of the netting, as in the flat check, 
and drawing it towards you. The stick may be 



FACING. 103 

pushed further forward, and the ball covered with 
the lower angle previous to the draw. 

6. Bach Catch. — Raise your crosse about two 
inches from the position assumed before the word 
" play" is given, and in the same motion turn the 
bend inwards towards the crosse of your opponent, so 
as to press in its net work, tip pointing slightly to the 
right. Press against his crosse, get the lend on the 
other side of the bally and draw to your right. Always 
keep the bend on the ball. 

7. Half -wheel Face — Is done by springing on 
your left foot as a pivot, making a sort of " left 
face," at the same time reversing the tip as in No. 4, 
excepting that the crosse should be almost perpendi- 
cular at the termination of the wheel. The ball is 
taken with the top of the curve, by a tip towards 
your original rear. 

When you purpose taking the ball to your right,, 
the draw or tip must not be as forcible as if to left 

y 

because then you send it towards your own goal. 
Centre should quietly tell the near field of his side, 
the particular direction in which he proposes hooking 
the ball, in order that the latter can regulate his 
position accordingly. 



104 FACING. 

There are modifications of every face, and others 
entirely different from those described. So far, there 
has been Httle development in this part of the game, 
and Centres scarcely ever calculate doing more than 
forcing the ball from their opponent to an indefinite 
point, away from their own defence, where it is as 
likely to be caught by an antagonist as an ally. It 
may seem unimportant as to which side gets the ball 
at the start, but if it is dangerous at all during the 
game, how much more so when the men are fresh ? 
Games won in one or two minutes are nearly always 
taken this way. 

The simplest methods of facing need practice. 
The more complicated may seem easier to describe 
than to perform, but we have personally seen methods 
of facing, and general points of play among the 
Indians, in their village games, which they never 
attempt or risk on pale-face grounds. There is more 
scope for experiment in facing than at first sight 
seems possible, and the variations here suggested are 
a few such, which may by practice be made useful 
when Centres meet antagonists as well posted in old 
methods as themselves. There is a spontaniety 
required in all methods which cannot be made into 



FACING. 105 

axioms. Not only the single draw, or hook, or tip, 
but anticipating or retrieving slips by double catches, 
is an important part of the art of facing. 

When a ball is taken up with the hand, as in Rules 
XIII. and XIV., it is usual to face with the nearest 
opponent, by throwing it straight up in the air, both 
men striking at it as it descends. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THROWING THE BALL. 

Nothing in Lacrosse offers more scope for develop- 
ment than the throwing of the ball, and yet nothing 
has been more neglected in theory and practice. 
The number of useless and miscalculated shots, the 
mistakes in timing and speed, are far beyond the 
aggregate of throws that are successful ; and when 
we consider the games made wild and tedious, and 
the opportunities lost by bad throwing, it would seem 
to call for reform and systematic improvement. For 
years we have endeavoured, in conjunction with 
others, to impress upon our brotherhood the value 
of practising throwing, especially into each other's 
crosses ; but men resisted what they considered 
tedious practice compared to the excitement of a 
game. True enough it is ; but so is the training to 
a gymnast, and the goose-step to a subaltern, but they 



THROWING THE BALL. 107 

lead to perfection. It is a great mistake to suppose 
you can make good players by an immediate rush into 
hot games. There is no royal road to Lacrosse any 
more than to geometry ; and though you may pick up 
what may seem to be a successful style by playing 
the game, ignorant of its principles, it will no more 
compare to genuine Lacrosse than sliding on a chip 
does to toboganing. To assert that you can learn to 
play as well by intuition as by rule, is to deny that 
there are first principles in the game, and it would 
be as useless trying to teach you as trying to prove 
Euclid's proportions to a man who disputes the axioms. 
If you feel yourself such an incarnation of genius 
that you think you know everything about the game, 
you'll find yourself left behind, and may say au revoir 
to your chances of election on " the first twelve." 

There are so few really good throwers in a club 
that they stand out as exceptions. There are many 
able to throw to any point from any distance when 
they have it all their own way ; but the essence of 
good play is to be able to do this in the excitement 
of having an opponent at your heels ; to have more 
ways than one, and to be able to throw accurately 
and quickly to any point, from whatever position you 



108 THROWING THE BALL. 

may happen to be in, when circumstances are such 
that you should not keep the ball. It is common to 
see men checked, while turning to the only position 
from which they are habituated to throw. Many 
players are like the gentleman with a short-hved 
reputation as a vocalist, who, when called upon to 
sing, had only in his repertoire one verse of '^ Ye 
Mariners of England," and the chorus of " Eule 
Britannia ;" their throws are not only limited in 
number and variety, but those they do know are not 
known to the perfection they might be. 

A ball thrown to a wrong point may do your 
side real harm, and it will not come back, like a 
boomerang, to give you another chance to improve. 
Many throws are poor because the thrower's methods 
are limited, and attempts are made to adapt some 
favorite style to all circumstances. At every game 
you may see this verified in close-quarter throwing. 
Few players have more than one or two ways 
of throwing past a checker, or putting the ball 
into goal. One or two we know have great variety 
and ingenuity in this respect. While other men 
waste throws by long shots, they invent and attempt 
new methods ; and from experience we know their 



I 



THROWING THE BALL. 109 

shots at goal to be peculiarly puzzling. A checker 
gets accustomed to a few orthodox thrown-dodges, and 
in time intercepts them almost invariably. We do 
not undervalue old or present methods of throwing^ 
but we think there is great room for improvement, 
and that new and more effective methods can be 
invented to supersede them at certain times. We 
presume, then, that we are agreed — 

1. That good throwing is essential to good play. 

2. That throwing has not been brought to perfection. 
We divide throws into — 1, long ; 2, medium ; 3, 

short ; and the varieties of balls into — 1, grounders ; 
2, straight ; 3, curved ; 4, hoppers. 

The rudimentary practices should be short dis- 
tances, and one of the best ways of learning to 
throw accurately and quickly, at the same time 
learning to catch, is practice in 

The Ring. — About seven or eleven 

men should form a circle, open at inter- 

7 2 . 
vals of six feet, and gradually increas- 
ing the distance 6 3 until they get to long 
throwing. The g ^ men are numbered 1, 
2, 3, and so on, always having an odd 
number. All face the centre of the circle. No. 1 



110 THROWING THE BALL. 

starts by throwing easily to No. 2, and the ball goes 
round the ring, every man trying to throw into the 
crosse of the number succeeding him After a little 
of this practice No. 1 throws a curved ball over 
the head of No. 2 to No. 3 ; No. 3 throws to No. 5 ; 
No. 5 to No. 7; No. 7 to No. 2, and so on. 
The ring is then gradually enlarged, and the 
practices varied by different throws and positions. 
The men may all face to the right, and practice 
throwing over head to each other. At first the 
players may look before they throw, but they should 
practice throwing without seeing their man. All the 
varieties of throws may be learned in the ring, as 
well as every method of catching. Several such 
circles should be formed when the muster is large ; 
and it will be found one of the very best practices 
for a few men when the muster is too small for a 
game. At any time it is infinitely of more use, than 
the common habit of players standing at each end 
of the field, and making long, high throws. In 
the ring you not only learn to throw and catch, but 
you learn to do both instantly. The arrangement of 
the circle may be varied in many ways. For 
"setting up" drill nothing can be better. 



THROWING THE BALL. Ill 

It is almost impossible to mention the whole 
variety of throws, as so many modifications are 
made on the spur of the moment, according to 
circumstances ; but the following will be found 
prracticable for all cases, and comprise many more 
than are commonly practised. Special throws 
should be cultivated as your forte. It is well to 
know every one, but better to know a few to 
perfection than half learn many. Almost any throw 
may be varied into the four kinds named above, 
by altering the general attitude, the manner of 
holding the crosse, &c. 

FRONT THROWS WITH ONE HAND. 

As a rule the best and most effective throwing 
is made with both hands on the crosse ; but it is 
often necessary, and sometimes preferable, to throw 
with one hand — as, for instance, when so closely 
checked that you have not time to grasp the stick 
with the disengaged hand, or when an opportunity 
offers for a throw into goal which would be lost 
by the time you would get another grasp. If you 
want to throw to a man of your side, guard against 
misjudging the distance, and never attempt it unless 



112 THROWING THE BALL. 

he IS at least within forty feet. To make eiOFective 
front throws with one hand, always grasp the crosse 
a little above the middle, thumb on top, the better to 
guide the impetus. This is one of the best. 

THROWING OVER THE HEAD OF A CHECKER. 

It should be done with a part jerk instead of a full 
sweep upwards, as less liable to a close check. The 
latter catches the eye of the checker too well. The 
ball may either be on the top or centre surface of the 
netting, and necessarily makes a curved throw, 
but guard against too great altitude or force. The 
rules relative to the deflection and curvings of the 
crosse, are applicable to all throws with one hand» 

THROWING INTO GOAL. 

Draw back your crosse, or carry it thus as 
you advance, and make a straight forward thrust^ 
either giving the arm full swing, or jerking the 
ball off. A modification of this may be made by 
carrying the crosse at a right angle from the 
right hip, as seen in Illustration 11th, and making 
an incurvation towards the point aimed at, by 
describing a sweeping curve from right to front, 



THROWING THE BALL. 113 

at the same time slightly turning the crosse inwards 
at the completion of the throw. A strong, steady 
arm and wrist can have great effect with this throw 
by altering the deflection and twistings of the crosse, 
from the beginning to the end of the shot. The 
ball should be on the lower angle, and run down 
during the throw. The shot may be either a straight 
or a grounder, and is generally a twisted ball. An 
excellent, and undeveloped throw into goal, is made 
by bringing the crosse quickly around to the rear, 
and throwing either close past the left leg, or between 
the legs. It is more puzzling to a goal-keeper, if 
done smartly, than you would at first suppose, as the 
ball is hardly seen until it has left the crosse, and 
the goal-keeper cannot tell whether it will be thrown 
from the left side, or from between the thrower's 
legs. It must be done quickly. 

Another effective shot — much used by the St. 
Regis Indians — to goal, may be done by reversing 
the crosse, turning the side you use, with the ball on 
it, upside down, by a twist of the wrist, and throwing 
in and downwards. 

We have seen balls put into goal by bringing the 
crosse around to the rear, and twisting it so as to 

I 



114 THROWING THE BALL. 

throw over the left shoulder, bending the body 
forward as the throw is completed. 

THROWING WITH BOTH HANDS ON THE CROSSE. 

Facing GroaL — This is an extension of the one- 
hand throw, and is sometimes more effective, as the 
act of changing the grasp puzzles the eye of the 
keeper ; and this is one of the great principles of 
success in getting balls in. The crosse is grasped 
by the right hand, as in carrying, and, when within 
a few feet of the goal-keeper, the left hand grasps 
about the collar, as the crosse is drawn back to begin 
the throw. The ball should start from or below the 
centre surface of the netting ; and it will be found 
that the addition of the left hand greatly helps to 
increase the strength of pitch, if used as a sort of 
lever. This manner of throwing kas the advantage 
of concluding with leaving both hands on the crosse, 
ready for stopping, tipping, or any close play which 
might be necessary, should the goal-keeper block or 
cut the ball back. It may often be used to very 
great advantage to pass a checker on the field, as 
seen in Illustration 8th ; and may be varied from 
low to high throws, and to the front or either side. 



THROWING THE BALL. 115 

The TJiroiv and Hit. — Used purposely at goal. 
As you approach goal, throw the ball up a foot in 
front, and strike it into the flags as it descends, and 
if you follow the general rule, you will not have the 
least compunction about striking it into the keeper's 
face. We would be the last, as goal-keeper, to 
object to any effort to get the ball in, but 
reminiscences of a black eye on one occasion, and a 
damaged osfrontis on another, constrains us to plead 
for fellow-victims who may thus possibly be saved 
maltreatment. It is hardly " play," either, and by 
no means honorable to practice it. A more reason- 
able mode would be to try the same principle with a 
grounder or a straight ball below the hip ; letting the 
ball off the crosse, and hitting it into goal. 

From the Shoulder or Head^ Facing Goal, — 
Bring the crosse up to either shoulder, or to the 
front of the face, with the ball on the lower angle or 
centre, grasping with both hands, and bring it quickly 
to the front, jerking or sweeping the ball off. There 
is no necessity of aiming at goal-keeper's face. This 
is used a good deal by the St. Regis Indians. 

Side Throtus. — These are the prettiest and most 
graceful methods, and are more used than any other, 



116 » THROWING THE BALL. 

in throwing to goal or to any part on the field. They 
comprise every variety of throw, and as a general 
rule, are the most effective and preferable. The 
body may be in any convenient position for throwing 
past the left side, though the most natural, is of 
course the best. One of the most graceful throws 
in the game is peculiarly Indian, and was greatly in 
favor in the early days of the Montreal Club, 
especially in playing to each other. The right hand 
grasps the butt as usual, the left the collar or above 
it. If throwing to one of your side, place the ball 
on the top surface, and pitch from right to left, 
either ending by a full sweep, or, as is more 
customary, a jerk. This may be used either for a 
straight or curved ball, and in throwing to goal as 
well as to a fielder. 

We fancy we can tell members of the old Montreal 
Club by this pitch. After their crosse has laid dor- 
mant for years, they will take it up, and the first throw 
will be the parallel side-shot. It is more like the 
throw from the original stick than any other. Front 
throws, with one hand, simply require that the ball 
should be propelled off the crosse as the latter is 
thrust forward ; but the throw we are now describing 



THROWING THE BALL. 117 

requires a twist of the stick from the flat side upper- 
most, so as to bring the tip up. Without this twist, 
the ball could not be sent to any distance. 

For long swift shots, run the ball down to the lower 
angle, and put all possible force into the throw from 
beginning to end. Illustration 5 shows the prepara- 
tion the instant before pitching, and immediately after 
a dodge. If the throw is to be high or straight, 
elevate the crosse at the end ; if a grounder, depress 
it. An excellent series of shots may be made at goal 
by throwing past the left side close to the left leg, 
and depressing the crosse so as to bring it perpen- 
dicular. If the thrower partially hides his crosse 
from the goal-keeper until the ball is off, the line of 
vision will be shorter, and the shot more likely to 
puzzle. 

Over Head, — This is much used by the Indians, 
and is important in cases where you have not time to 
use any other to advantage. It is done by picking 
up the ball in front, and immediately sending it over 
head ; or may be done more coolly when carrying the 
ball. The head should be turned quickly around, 
and a glance got at the point to be thrown to ; but it 
is an advantage to be able to throw accurately in 



118 THROWING THE BALL. 

answer to signals without looking. In many instances 
during the game, this over-head throw will be found 
useful, especially during close play, when persistently 
followed by a checker. The ball should start from 
the top or centre surface ; but more accurate shots 
are made by the former. 

Past Right Side, — Some fine shots to goal can 
be made past the side of the body which corresponds 
with the arm used to carry the crosse. The right 
side of the body half faces the point aimed at ; the 
right hand grasps the butt, and the left above the 
collar. A parallel sweep is then given. 

Over Right or Left Shoulder - — This throw is 
often necessary, and is easily made accurate for 
throwing to any point. May be used for short and 
long shots, and is identical with the same throw 
practised in " The Ring." 

POSITION OF THE BALL ON THE NETTING PREVIOUS 
TO THROWING. 

It will be conceded, we think, by players who 
reflect at all upon the theory of Lacrosse, that the 
most of throws are more effectively delivered when 
the ball starts from certain parts of the netting. If 



THROAVING THE BALL. 119 

you observe good throwers, you Avill see them 
manoeuvre to get it on a certain part of the 
crosse just as they are about to throw, and regu- 
late — often unconsciously — velocity, distance and 
style by this principle. We do not say thal^ , 
there is an exact focus ; but we know there is 
almost one. 

The velocity of a ball, propelled with the greatest 
force, is increased in proportion to its nearness to 
the termination of the lower angle at the start. 
The secret of hard, swift throwing is to start 
the ball from the lower angle, as seen in Illustra- 
tion 5th. 

A ball can be thrown farther from the lower angle 
than from any other part of the crosse. 

Long shots can be well guided, if thrown from the 
lower angle ; but medium throws are better guided, 
as a rule, if thrown from the centre or top surface. 

Throws of the same kind may require more or less 
impulse, according to the point thrown to. A throw 
to a man of your side, as a rule, requires a different 
momentum — and consequently a different starting 
place on the netting — than the same throw to goal. 
If you make a certain throw to a man, and expect 



120 THROWING THE BALL. 

him to catch it, it is not likely you want to throw in 
the same way to the goal you are attacking. It is 
not uncommon to regulate the accuracy and speed 
of the short shots by a certain guard of the muscles, 
and a physical control of the wrist and arm ; when 
the fact is, that the position of the ball on the 
netting is the surer guide. 

It may not be generally known, even by old 
players, that a goal-keeper can easier judge a 
thrown ball, if it starts from and leaves the same 
part of the netting, providing, of course, that he 
sees the beginning and end of the throw. We have 
proved this a hundred times ; and believe the 
reason is that the ball does not twist the same? 
and sometimes not at all, when it leaves the spot 
it starts from, and that the line of vision between 
the goal-keeper's eye and it, as it originally lies on 
the stick in the action of beginning the throw, is 
less unbroken. When a ball is thrown by one hand, 
at goal, from the top surface, its momentum is less, 
and it has no netting to roll over, and the eye 
quicker catches its direction ; but if thrown from 
the centre or lower angle its momentum is corres- 
pondingly greater, and the length it rolls, as well 



THROWING THE BALL. 121 

as the speed it gets, makes it a more effective and 
dangerous shot. 

VARIETIES OF SHOTS. 

It is well to remember that there are four varieties 
of balls, all of which are different in their effect, and 
that they are differently delivered, according as the 
shot is to a player of your side or to goal. 

Straight Balls are those thrown within the height 
of the flag-poles, and which do not touch the ground 
en route. If swift and accurate, they are very 
effective at goal, and are absolutely indispensable on 
the field for short, quick throws. Thrown at the 
flags, goal-keeper's difficulty of stopping them is 
increased in ratio as the ball meets his centre, 
thus : — 

1. Below the knee. 

2. The knee. 

3. The head, or above it. 

4. Chest. 

5. Stomach. 

The latter is the most difficult ball to stop when it 
shoots within a foot of the goal-keeper's body, to 



122 THROWING THE BALL. 

either side ; because, if it is unforeseen and sudden, 
as most all shots are to goal-keeper, it meets the part 
of his crosse (the lower angle) which offers the 
smallest surface for stopping, and, in attempting 
to block, his arms are cramped. When you get 
between point and goal-keeper, and have a chance 
to throw into the flags, prefer a straight throw 
on a line with the centre of the keeper's body. 

Q-rounders are those thrown along the ground, 
and are mostly used at goal. May be any speed or 
distance, and though easier to stop than any others, 
they are always insinuating and puzzling, especially 
if thrown from a short distance. They are most 
effective at dusk, as they cannot be seen quickly 
when thrown swift. 

Hoppers are those which strike the ground in 
front of goal from a curved throw or grounder, and 
hop or rise suddenly. All grounders are liable to 
this on uneven ground. The home men should 
examine the ground near goal, and if they see a 
furrow or ridge parallel or opposite, make use of 
it by throwing swift grounders which will strike 
them. The theory of hoppers is, that if started as 
grounders the goal-keeper prepares to receive them 



THROWING THE BALL. 123 

as sucla ; and when they rise, they hop so suddenly 
that he may not bring up his crosse sufficiently quick 
to stop them. This fact will make the player cautious 
about throwing grounders to men of his own side 
on a rough ground. 

Curved Throws are those thrown in a curve ^ 
either on the field or at goal. In general field play 
they are very much used, and have a pretty effect 
as they rise and fall. They are preferable whenever 
you cannot throw the ball to a point without the 
possibility of its being stopped on the way ; also 
when your home men are at the enemy's goal- 
crease ready to strike them in, and whenever the 
sun is in goal-keeper's eyes. Slow curvilinear 
balls dropped into the flags from any distance are 
harder to judge than any other. The Indians know 
this ; they always throw them when their home 
is at the goal-crease. This pitching on instead 
of at goal has been much overlooked in pale-face 
play. 

SWIFT AND SLOW BALLS. 

It is sometimes necessary to throw swift, and 
sometimes slow. Whenever it is an object to throw 



124 THROWING THE BALL. 

to a man of your side^ the sooner the ball gets 
to him the better ; and if a swift throw will facili- 
tate that end better than a slow, by all means 
throw swift. In throwing to goal, however, we 
wish to correct a delusion, and that is, that " swift 
shots are more likely to win games than slow." 
We have lost more games by the latter, and 
believe it to be the experience of every goal- 
keeper, white and red. Slow balls at cricket are 
harder to time. Most batsmen like fast bowling. 
If only swift balls took wickets, where would be 
the bowling fame of George Parr ? In goal we 
find swift shots easier to time and stop than slow, 
because they do not deviate as much from the 
original line, and are not as likely to slip. Of 
course, if a goal-keeper is afraid of them, swift 
balls will soon knock him end-ways. Curved balls 
get any speed they may have, from the altitude from 
which they fall and the distance they were thrown, 
and their speed cannot be regulated to ensure 
accuracy. 

If either the ball or the netting of the crosse are 
wet, the throw is easier accelerated, though velocity 
is mainly regulated by the force put into the 



I 



THROWING THE BALL. 125 

pitch. All swift shots require a tight grasp of the 
crosse, and a sudden jerking propulsion. 

LONG AND HIGH THROWS. 

Long throws are more fashionable than advisable ^ 
and more pretty than necessary. If men are par- 
ticular about fielding, and can play into each other's 
crosses, it is scarcely ever absolutely preferable to 
make a long shot. It must be a principle in Lacrosse 
as in war, to never waste your shot ; and the tendency 
of long throwing is to be made the rule, and to 
destroy confidence in one another. It will be found, 
too, that men noted for long pitches are apt to neglect 
short practice, and are deficient in that nice per- 
ception which guides the variations of thrown dodges, 
frisking, &c. However, this is not always so, and 
long throws are sometimes important, when, for 
instance, they completely destroy a strong bunching 
attack. When your goal is crowded, or the enemy 
have managed to rally more men to the attack than 
you have for defence, a long, judicious throw 
checkmates the assault, and gives an advantage to 
your side, who are stronger where the ball falls, in 
consequence of the bunching attack of your opponents. 



126 THROWING THE BALL. 

The average long throw with the regulation crosse 
is about 120 yards, but our crack throwers average 
140, and several have thrown from 160 to 190 yards. 
The pale-face throws farther than the red-skin. 

If you must make a long shot, do not make it too 
Mgh. High throws in Lacrosse are as ineffective as 
high hits in cricket, and we know the latter make 
low averages. 

Twenty feet high is a good height for general 
throwing ; but it will be remembered, of course, 
that the same law of gravitation in long shots applies 
to long throws, and the farther you want to send the 
ball the greater must be its elevation. It is too 
common, though, to make high throws for the sake 
of show and individual applause ; and once men 
go to work to please spectators, without consulting 
the first principles of scientific play, then all chance 
of improvement ends. 

" The shortest distance between two points is 
straight out." Apply this rule to every long throw. 
Supposing you throw to one of your side who has one 
or two opponents in his vicinity, you evidently want 
him to get it Avith impunity. Now, the higher you 
throw, the more time is lost in the ascent and descent, 



THROWING THE BALL. 127 

and the opponents profit by it, because they see the 
point aimed at, and reach it as soon, and perhaps 
sooner, than the ball. It needs no great knowledge 
of Dynamics to understand, that the higher a ball is 
thrown, the more its speed is retarded in rising, and 
accelerated in the fall; and consequently, that 
accurate calculation as to the time it will take to 
send it to a given point, cannot be made with the 
same certainty as if it was thrown straight. 

THROWING TO GOAL. 

All throws to goal should depend upon the attitude 
and reputation of the keeper. If he is fearless of 
swift balls, give him slow, and vice versa. If he 
stands in the exact centre, throw at the side 
corresponding to the hand which grasps the butt of 
his stick. For instance, if his right hand is at the 
butt, throw past his right side, and vice versa. The 
theory of this is, that it cramps the arms and crosse 
a little more to stop balls, especially grounders and 
low straights, which come on the same side as that 
which corresponds to the carrying grasp, as that 
arm is then partly in the way. If he stands to one 
side, throw at the side most open. If goal-keeper's 



128 THROWING THE BALL. 

crosse is held as if expecting a curved ball, throw a 
grounder ; if down, expecting a grounder, throw a 
straight or curved ; if held in the position of " ready," 
make your best and favorite shot. 

PRECISION. 

To throw with precision should be your aim ; not 
only to throw about where one of your men is, but to 
throw into his crosse ; not merely to throw to goal^ 
but to either side, high or low of the keeper. Precision 
depends upon steady arms and wrists, keen eyes, and 
a perfect command of the ball on the crosse. The 
arms and eyes work together. Always take time to 
aim when possible. Keep a stiff grasp of the, stick. 

DEFLECTION. 

If the wind is strong you must make allowance for 
deflection, especially in long throws, either by throw- 
ing with more force, or more to windward of the 
point aimed at. You can tell the way the wind 
blows by the goal flags. 

LOOK BEFORE YOU THROW. 

The slightest glance at the point to be thrown to is- 
of the greatest importance to make a dead shot. 



THROWING THE BALL. 129 

You may and should be able to throw well without 
it, but sure shots without it are more the exception 
than the rule. Looking is almost equivalent to 
aiming, and whether you aim deliberately or imper- 
ceptibly, it materially affects your shot. A practised 
thrower learns to pitch to a point quickly and with 
precision, as an old sportsman learns to bring his 
gun up to his shoulder, and fire with an unconscious 
aim. The arms and wrists must be educated to 
obey the eye. As a general thing, you have no 
chance for slow calculation, and whether you have 
or not, it is advisable to practise throwing instan- 
taneously. Keep your eye on the point aimed at 
until the ball has left your crosse, or let it follow the 
ball the instant it leaves the netting. 

TWISTING THE BALL. 

Many players deny that the ball can be twisted 

by pre-meditation. We acknowledge it is the acme 

of difficulty to do it, but we are convinced that it 

can be done, though not always. It is sometimes 

done unknowingly, when throwing to goal. The 

theory of twisted balls is this : all balls thrown from 

K 



130 THROWING THE BALL. 

a crosse, rotate to a certain extent, but they are more 
circular than rotatory, — that is, they revolve more 
around the circle, as when thrown along the ground, 
then spin on their own axis. The effect of a mere 
circular spinning ball when blocked by the goal- 
keeper, is, at the most, to revolve up or down the 
length of the netting ; but a rotatory ball twists 
across the face of the netting, from right to left, or 
left to right. The result is evident. The width of 
the netting being much narrower than the lengthy 
the ball is more likely to twist off into goal. 

You cannot twist grounders in this way. To 
twist straight and curved balls, requires a knack of 
the wrists and arms, to give the ball a twist from 
right to left on the crosse as it is leaving. It should 
leave the crosse at the bend, or if the throw is short, a 
little below. The ball should have a ring painted 
around it, by which you can see the spin. If the ball 
and crosse are wet, the spin is greater. If a perfect 
twist could te given to the ball, so that it would spin 
from right to left, or left to right, when it is blocked, 
there is no doubt but that " blocking" such shots 
would be almost as risky as trying to catch them. 
Here is a chance for invention — how to make the 



THROWING THE BALL. 131 

ball twist on its own axis with certainty ; for we do 
not say we have discovered the correct principle. 

DO NOT HESITATE WHEN THROWING. 

One of the most important qualifications of a good 
thrower, is to pitch with as little hesitation as possible. 
It is aggravating to see a man holding the ball and 
looking for the best place to throw ; and though it is 
well to pitch to the best place, it is folly waiting 
until a checker gets so near, that your anticipated 
throw is spoiled, and the man you proposed throwing 
to, probably checked while you were waiting. If you 
decide to throw, get all the opportunity and space 
you can, and do not risk a check. " There's many a 
slip," &c. ; and if you do slip, and a checker within 
a few feet, your chances of retrieving it will be much 
lessened. The necessity for throwing very swift — 
when the ball is to be thrown to a player not checked, 
but about to be — would often be avoided by throwing 
instantly. 

THROW GRACEFULLY. 

Do not work your whole body as if you intended 
propelling yourself after the ball, or were griped. 



132 THROWING THE BALL. 

The ball seems to come to goal more suddenly from 
a thrower who merely uses his arms. The arms are 
the motive powers of propulsion, though certainly 
much force can be added by the body. The position 
in which you throw must be governed by circum- 
stances, such as the chance and room you have, and 
the point to which you wish to pitch. A man who 
l)ends his body much at throwing to goal, gives 
goal keeper a preparatory warning where the ball is 
coming. We learned to know the part of the goal 
at which the ball would likely have to be stopped, 
by the position some awkward throwers assumed in 
the first act of pitching. 

DANGEROUS THROWING. 

Almost any throw may be made dangerous if you 
like, or do not care. Nearly all old players, and too 
many new ones, can relate some instance of personal 
temporary injury from dangerous throws ; and there 
seems something so deliberately wicked in rash 
methods of throwing, when men know they must hurt 
some one, that we wonder any player of feeling or 
honour would use them. No hurt is an accident 
when you deliberately use the means almost certain 



THROWING THE BALL. 133 

of causing one ; and we know no more disagreeable 
companion on the field, than a player who has a 
reputation for sending balls at the faces, stomachs, 
and legs of his rivals. A few general rules and we 
have done with this chapter. Never empty or give 
the ball into the crosse of another player to throw. 
When necessary to throw to a man closely checked, 
pitch a little beyond him, if he is good at a dash. 
Never touch the ball with your hand, to press it 
into the leading string before pitching. Above all, 
have confidence in your side, and remember that the 
greatest accuracy and skill are of little avail, if you 
ignore throwing into the crosses of your own men. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CATCHING, AND CAREYING THE BALL. 

Catching. — You may be the best catch of a 
cricketing eleven, or a base ball nine, but to catch a 
ball on a crosse is quite a different art. I never yet 
saw it done in the easiest way, by men who handle a 
crosse for the first time, though every day you may 
hear theorists talk of its simplicity. It is easy enough 
to hold your crosse so that a ball thrown to you may 
fall on the netting, but the difficulty consists in 
keeping it, especially if your netting conforms to the 
regulations. It is an antithesis of catching, that 
nothing is harder at first, and nothing easier when 
learned. 

To catch with a bagged crosse is no art whatever ; 
to catch and play with the netting flat is the per- 
fection of catching, because it makes your play 
scientific. It was not unusual before laws were 



CATcnma, and caerying the ball. 135 

made 5 to find the best catchers those who had 
bagged netting, and there were passable players who 
could not play at all when obliged to use the netting 
flat. When you find you must resort to bagging, to 
make you equal with others, you may be convinced 
you have yet to learn the very elements of good and 
scientific play. The Indians are celebrated for 
catching, and yet, observe the paltry net work of 
their sticks, as a rule, and without the least 
bag. We remember that at the match before 
H. R. H. the Prince of Wales, of twenty-five 
Indians, only cme carried a stick which would not 
have passed the inspection of the Umpires, and 
yet one special feature of that match was their 
magnificent catching. Catching, however, has always 
been their hereditary acomplishment. When the 
original stick was used they played for hours with- 
out missing a catch ; Lanman says, '^ it is sometimes 
kept from touching the ground for a whole after- 
noon." Sandford, in his History of the United 
States, also says, '' the ball seldom touches the 
ground." If you look at the size and shape of the 
original stick, you will understand the diSiculty of 
such play, and may feel that catching in our game, 



136 CATCHING, AND CARRYING THE BALL. 

with our larger netting, is far from practised to 
the perfection it might be. 

Old custom, and the first laws, allowed touching 
the ball with the hand, to block or pat it on to the 
crosse, but in the excitement of the game it 
degenerated into deliberate catching. The result 
was that the new laws prohibited any touching of 
the ball with the hand during play, except when 
by goal-keeper inside the goal crease, or when it 
was taken out of a hole to face. The Indians, 
from the earliest times, were prohibited touching 
the ball with the hand ; and in the village games 
at Caughnawaga and St. Regis, it is still con- 
sidered unfair to touch it in any way, and a penalty 
of "facing" from the spot where the ball was 
touched is strictly enforced. That permission to 
touch with the hand developed some beautiful 
play cannot be doubted, but its tendency was to 
extremes, and to cause disputes, and its abolition 
became a necessity. Since the interdiction, catchers 
have paid more attention to real expertness in 
handling the crosse, and the art has become 
more finished. 

We take it for granted that you repudiate a 



CATCHING, AND CARRYING THE BALL. 137 



bagged netting; but avoid dry, hard cat-gut, as 
it not only cracks on bending, but renders your 
catching unnecessarily difficult. Soft cat-gut deadens 
the bounce, and enables you to manoeuvre the 
ball with more grace and promptne&s, than when 
it is hard. 

The simplicity of catching is to catch slow balls 
thrown from a short distance ; the high art is 
to catch long or short swift balls, especially when 
you run out to meet them, whether thrown to you or 
to an opponent : also the variety of quick catches 
occurring in close quarter play. 

Preliminary practice is of the greatest importance ^ 
and the best and surest way of learning the 
rudiments, as well as the high art in catching^ 
is to practise quietly with some one or two players^ 
or even alone. Your very first lesson must be learned 
alone, and I would suggest the following series : 

First — The perpendicular throw and catch ; 
beginning at a low altitude, and increasing as you 
find you perfect yourself in each successive height. 
Next throw the ball from different distances and 
to different points of a high wall or fence, catching as 
it rebounds. Next, stand alone, and throw upwards 



138 CATCHING, AND CARRYING THE BALL. 

and outwards, so that you will have to make 
short dashes to catch ; next upwards and backwards, 
so that you will have to turn around and run 
backwards to catch. Then hold your crosse out 
at arms' length, right and left alternately, and 
practise a semi-circular throw, and catch from 
one side to the other ; first, from right, over head 
to left, and vice versa. After you have learned the 
art alone, and can catch and keep balls, practise 
in the ring, as described on page 109. 

There are many variations of catching, but master 
the following and any others will naturally be easy : 

1. Descending Balls, — If you catch a descending 
ball before it touches the ground you gain an 
advantage. In a game where every movement of 
play you make with the 'ball is liable to check, 
success often depends upon the advantages gained 
in seconds. 

If the ball is descending from a high perpendicular 
throw, as if thrown straight up, or if descending in a 
curve, hold your crosse to the front, right hand at the 
butt, left above the collar, and when the ball is 
about two or three feet above the level of your head, 
make a thrust upwards to meet it, — something 



CATCHING, AND CARRYING THE BALL. 139 

similar to the '' high thrust " in the bayonet 
exercise ; and when it is within a few inches let 
your crosse sink before it, imperceptibly slackening, 
until the ball rests ^ as it were, upon the netting. 
As soon as this is done continue a slight depression 
of your crosse to steady the ball, and bring it up 
in another and successive movement to the usual level 
at which you carry. The softer the ball drops 
on the netting, without noise or jar, the more 
scientific is the catch. To accomphsh this is no easy 
matter. 

The fault of many players in catching descending 
balls, is in holding the crosse too stiff as the ball 
is near the netting, and meeting it half way^ the 
result of which is to cause it to bounce. Another 
fault is letting the ball touch the netting at too 
high an altitude, which often prevents the safe 
completion of the catch. The correct method in the 
former case is to retreat the netting of your crosse 
from the ball, as if you did not want, and yet would 
like to catch it. A good player at any hand-ball 
catching, never catches a ball flat ; his hands move 
towards it, and retreat just when it is at his finger 
ends. The same rule applies to catching on a crosse. 



140 CATCHING, AND CARRYING THE BALL. 

The netting should be presented to the ball, as 
seen in illustration 3, not batted against it, and 
should receive it on the head or centre surface ; 
never on the lower angle. If a checker is near^ 
let your catch terminate by a curve or sweep of the 
crosse from his direction, whether he is on your 
right or left. If in proximity to more than one, 
make a little leap upwards, and strike the ball away 
to one of your side, or to a point you can reach 
before any of your antagonists; or, if possible, frisk 
it in the air to one side and catch it. You may 
frisk with the head surface of the netting, at 
full length of your crosse, sweeping the ball over 
your head to one side without letting it fall to the 
ground, and terminating by a sinking and sweeping 
dodge to secure it. This is one of the prettiest feats 
of play. Your entire body, from head to toe, 
must give special action, as well as your crosse, to 
complete any catch among opponents, so as to evade a 
check. The mere catch is insufficent without an 
accompanying agility, which gives grace to your feat 
and guards your subsequent movements. You may be 
a master of every point and guard of fencing, but 
without the proper use of your legs, an agile 



CATCHING, AND CARRYING THE BALL. 141 



amateur might run you through, or escape your 
deadliest thrust. The rule holds good for effect 
in Lacrosse. 

After the hall strikes the ground, — This is a 
very simple catch, and is used when you have 
not confidence for, or miss the preceding, and is 
sometimes a matter of choice, but often of necessity. 
Any ball, but a grounder, may be struck to the 
ground at your front and caught on the rebound. 
The easiest catch is made on the head surface 
of the netting, and with one hand grasping the 
butt. A slight twist from right to left insures 
the security of the ball. If one or more opponents 
are near and attempt to catch, you may strike away 
their sticks before you touch the ball. This applies 
to all catching. 

Grounders. — This is more a combination of 
picking up and blocking, as in goal, than catching 
proper, but nearly all grounders rise after blocking 
and require catching. Block with the head surface 
of the netting, and as the ball slides up, depress 
the handle of your stick, and scoop it up by a 
thrust forward and upward. If the ball is very 
swift, keep the handle of your crosse well advanced 



142 CATCHING, AND CARRYING THE BALL. 

until you block, then depress it and catch. When 
running to meet a grounder, guard against it slipping 
after caught. Whether you should catch at arms^ 
length, or at closer distance, must depend upon 
your position at the time. 

Hoppers. — In the case of hoppers you may either 
catch immediately, or block first and then catch. If 
the hop is very swift or sudden, the latter is the 
safest resort. Especially guard against slipping. 

Straight halls — The most difficult to master o 
all catches, requiring a great deal of confidence and 
practice, especially if the ball is thrown with 
any extra velocity. If it comes above the level 
of your chin, you had better not attempt to catch ; 
if below, you may do it by quickly drawing up your 
crosse, to a position something similar to the " low 
point" in bayonet exercise ; the side of the netting 
with which you play receiving the ball ; knuckles of 
left hand which grasps above the collar, uppermost. 
As the ball strikes the netting give your crosse a slight 
motion forward to deaden the shot, and a quick curve 
upwards to secure the ball. This is the neatest and 
most scientific catch. 

The omnipresence of the ball develops various 



CATCHING, AND CARRYING THE BALL. 143 

combinations of catching, which depend for success 
upon agility of body, as well as perfect at-homenes& 
with the crosse. No one can be a good fielder 
without a good knowledge of its principles, as the 
occasions for it in general play are so frequent. 
Catching is always more difficult when you are 
running ; and the player who can keep a cool 
head on the field is always the best catch. As 
you should be able as a dodger, to catch balls 
thrown past a checker, so should you cultivate 
the art of catching balls thrown past you, when your 
position as dodger is reversed. This latter art requires 
that you should have something of the '' tee-totum" 
in your legs, and an eye quick as an eagle's. 

The sinking and rising movement in catching is 
of absolute importance to sure effective play. It 
perfects any catch, better secures the ball, saves 
the netting of your crosse, and is scientific and 
graceful. The different sweeps, deviations and 
curves described in the termination of catching, 
follow naturally, when the first principles are mas- 
tered ; and no better example can be offered in this 
easy and elegant play, than the every-day Lacrosse 
of the Indians of Caughnawaga and St. Regis. 



144 CATCHING, AND CARRYING THE BALL. 

Whether you catch with one hand or two grasping 
the crosse, is a matter of choice ; but though any 
catch may be commenced with the ordinary grasp of 
carrying, it is safer to let every catch terminate with 
the two hands on the crosse, in case you are obhged 
to throw. 

A ball, accidentally caught under the arms, should 
never be touched by the hand, nor carried there. 
Avoid the very appearance of unfair play. 

Carrying, — Before the laws were made, the 
fashionable thing was to have a bag of various 
degrees of depth, at the lower angle, in which it was 
also fashionable to carry the ball. Of course 
the bag facilitated carrying very much, and the 
deepest bag had the best chance. Now, the 
lower angle is the riskiest place for carrying, 
unless the leading strings are large and protective. 
When running, the safest place to carry is on the 
centre surface, because you can there control 
the ball better, and are always ready for an effective 
one-hand throw. If you carry on the lower angle, 
you have little control of the ball if your stick 
is struck by a checker ; if on the extreme top surface 
you cannot recover quick, if hard hit, unless you have 



CATCHING, AND CARRYING THE BALL. 145 

a short grip. The best grasp, for all purposes, is 
at the butt, leaving half an inch protrude. The arm 
should hang at full length, and the stick at the 
lowest level at which the ball will not fall off. The 
arm and wrist alone should control the crosse ; the 
body should not be contorted. It is a common play 
to dandle the ball on the netting when running, and 
otherwise add variety to the plain carry ; and we 
would recommend players cultivating this dandhng of 
the ball, when carrying near an opponent, and even 
in many carried dodges. Recently some players have 
resorted to ingenious constructions of the wooden 
part of the crosse, to get over the restrictions about 
bagging the netting. The best we have seen is the 
stick scooped out from the collar to the top, thereby 
making nearly as good a bag as the netting could 
afford were the old bag allowed. Although this is 
not illegal, we certainly do not approve of it. It is 
worse than a high leading string, as the ball is 
oftener carried next the wood than the string, and 
has even more objectionable features than are in- 
terdicted in the netting, in Rule 1. 



CHAPTER X. 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 



Dodging — Is the art of carrying the ball past one 
or more checkers. It is the ostentation and glitter 
of the game ; and though important, has been too 
often made a sort of saturnalia, where the dodger 
ran a gauntlet of merciless s wipers, after the Indian 
fashion of the gauntlet for captives. Its absolute 
necessity is of rare recurrence, but common custom 
and young blood, has made it an indelible and 
prominent feature of Lacrosse. There is a madness 
in its most difficult feats, spiced with a smack of 
danger, that must always make it a tempting at- 
traction. When you dodge to excess, you submit 
your anatomy to the possibility of cut and bruised 
fingers, and, like Lamb's convalescent, you are 
''your own sympathizer." The burnt child may 
dread fire, but did maiming ever give players a 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 147 

disrelish for dodging ? There is an audaciousness 
in charging a good checker, and especially a 
succession of checkers, which becomes a mania with 
some men ; and no catastrophe seems to cure their 
predilection for risking the contingencies of a 
checker's crosse. 

Good players aim at perfection in throwing and 
frisking in preference to any great skill in dodging, 
because there is more certainty about the former. 
But as nothing is trifling that ever succeeds, every 
player ought to be able to dodge to some extent. 
The correct play lies between the two extremes. 
For instance, you may have an opportunity to pass 
Point, when their are no fielders to attack or aid you, 
and either dodge into goal or get closer to throw : 
the importance of being able to dodge Point is then 
obviously evident. On the other hand, by attempt- 
ing to dodge too near your own flags, you may lose 
the ball and have the tables turned. Indiscriminate 
attempts to pass checkers is too Quixotic in principle, 
and damaging to the rest of your side ; moderate 
and well timed dodging will often bring you into 
better position, and into closer relation with your 
opponents goal, looks well, and develops confidence. 



148 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

Dodging owes its origin to the vain individualism 
of the Red Skin. Long before a pale face saw the 
game, there were notables whose /or^g it was to carry 
the ball to the goal, through a crowd of opponents ; 
and to this day, their common practice in their 
village game is to carry the ball to the flags, or, 
over the Jine representing " game." Indian dodging 
was principally " thrown '' dodges ; they seldom 
attempted the '' carried " styles which are so preva- 
lent among our white players. Since their 
frequent contests with the pale face, they have 
taken to dodging, much to their disadvantage we 
think. 

We divide dodging into " Carried" and " Thrown" 
dodges ; the former, when the ball is kept on the 
crosse ; the latter, when it is thrown past the 
checker and afterwards recovered. 

The crosse should be held in the hand with which 
you carry ; the grasp may be shorter for thrown 
than carried dodges. 

Good dodging implies coolness, and dash, close 
calculation, a thorough command of the ball on the 
crosse, agility of body, and a strong and a supple 
wrist and arm. 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 149 

CARRIED DODGES. 

1. Across front of body from right to left, — This 
is the oldest and most used carried dodge, and has 
the advantage of being done with so slight a motion, 
that it may be repeated in quick succession in a 
gauntlet of checkers. Grasp the crosse at the butt, 
or a little above the collar ; carry the ball on the 
lowest part of the centre surface. When bags were 
used, the nearer the ball was to the lower angle, the 
easier it was managed. To make this dodge, watch 
the eye of the checker as you near him, and as he 
makes a cut at your crosse, bend your arm quickly, 
and bring it across the front of your body to the 
opposite side, and thrust it forward past his right, 
giving a twist upwards from right to left during 
the thrust, as if dodging another checker. A 
wavering motion of the stick, confuses checker's 
eye, gives you more command of the ball, and often 
prevents its falling off when the stick is struck. 

This dodge allows of considerable variety in the 
deflections and curvings of the crosse, which can 
only be learned by practice. Some players succeed 
best by a high up-thrust at the completion of the 
check ; some by lowering the front ; others by a straight 



150 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

forward thrust ; but the general fault is in thrusting 
too high, by which you cannot command the ball 
with ease. 

The great secret of success lies in accurately 
anticipating and timing checks, and promptly 
avoiding them. If the checker waits until you 
begin your dodge, your chances of success are not 
as consoling as if he commenced a check at your 
right ; because the latter shows you his play, and 
gives you opportunity to accommodate your dodge 
to the result of his blow. This is the diflSculty in 
making this plain check. It is sometimes varied by 
changing the crosse quickly, as you pass it across 
your body, into the other hand. When approaching a 
dodger, you may hold your crosse out straight 
towards Mm at nearly full arms length. If he strikes 
in time, suddenly draw it back to escape the check, 
and then make the sweep across the front of your 
body to left. 

2. Past Ohecher^s Left. — Instead of carrying 
your stick across your front, thrust it suddenly to 
your right, at a right angle with your right side, 
making a dash past checker's left. Take a short 
grip of the crosse, if possible. 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 151 

3. Turnmg on your own axis, — This dodge is 
very successful if well-timed, — even against the best 
Indian checks. It takes them by surprise, and is 
one of the prettiest of all the dodges. 

It consists in making a sudden right-wheel twist, 
on the left toes as a pivot, as the checker strikes at 
your crosse, and bringing the latter up perpen- 
dicular. It is not a complete revolution that 
will bring you back to your original position ; though 
you must accommodate your tactics to the changes of 
your adversary, so far as they impede your liberty to 
pass him. At the end of the spin, dart forward from 
the left foot. 

The ball should be on the centre surface ; the 
crosse grasped short, keeping it perpendicular, and 
balancing the ball during the wheel. The disengaged 
arm may be extended to ward off easy checks ; and 
should be used on the forward and backward prin- 
ciple of catching a ball. In close quarters, many 
checks are prevented by the timely use of the left 
hand and arm. 

When an opponent meets you, and strikes at your 
crosse, a sudden and single quarter, or half turn, 
will often be the best movement to thwart him. In 



152 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

almost every dodge, it is essentially necessary to be 
able to spin around instantaneously, and should be 
often practised. 

4. Short Stop and Turn, — This is peculiarly 
Indian, and more an artful evasion than a deliberate 
dodge. When a checker meets you, instead of 
dodging, as described, suddenly stop a few feet from 
lim, make a turn to the right flank or rear as the 
check is coming, and double until safe. Before our 
present improvement in playing, a pleasant diversion 
of the Indians was to keep our checkers prancing 
around them trying to check this dodge ; while it was 
edifying to a philologer to hear the redskin repartee^ 
whenever a paleface made frantic strikes at nothing. 
It is still their best dodge, as few white men can 
match them in the wiry sort of leg-bail pecuhar to it. 
When a checker is very persistent and dangerous, 
occasionally wheel around and keep your back to him. 

5. Over Head of Checker, — As the checker 
strikes at your crosse, elude the stroke by a timely 
avoidance to the right, and before he recovers, carry 
your crosse upwards and sweep it high over his head, 
as you run from right to left ; reversing the ball 
and the side of the netting which hold it, and recov- 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 153 

ering by a twist as the dodge is completed. A long 
grasp of the crosse is best, — the ball should be kept 
on the top surface. 

6. When closely pursued ly checkers, — Simply 
alter your course, by darting to right or left or rear, 
and guard strokes at the butt of your crosse from 
the rear, by twists of the wrist, and extension of the 
arm carrying the stick. 

DandUng the ball up and down on the crosse, is 
very serviceable to frustrate many checks, as the 
ball is in the air when the crosse is struck. 

THROWN DODGES. 

1. Over head of checker. — Is simply the front 
throw with one hand, described on page 112, in the 
chapter on " Throwing." It is much used in dodging, 
and unless practised often, is subject to close checks. 

2. Hear throw. — When the ball is picked up in 
front of an opponent, or, if the dodger is checked by 
one or more in front, or from either flank, a good 
style is to throw the ball backwards over your own 
head ; turning around and catching it before it falls. 
A single glance must be taken to the rear, lest the 
ball should be thrown into the crosse of an opponent. 



154 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

3. Checker striking crosse. — Several good thrown 
dodges are sometimes improved, by letting the checker 
strike your crosse the moment the ball is leaving it (see 
illustration 9). The concussion of the two sticks 
increases the force of any throw, and the checker is 
momentarily put off his guard, to a greater degree 
than the dodger. One of the prettiest and cleverest 
dodges of the kind, is greatly in favor with the St. 
Regis Indians. As the checker meets the dodger, 
the latter turns slightly to the right, and with a 
motion of his wrist, jerks the ball over the former's 
crosse, between it and his body, catching it neatly 
on the other side. 

4. The counter check. — If checker strikes your 
crosse, throw the ball up, or over his head, and 
counter-check him by striking his stick away before 
you catch the ball. You may use this counter-check 
in nearly all thrown dodges. 

5. Dropping and picking up. — This is useful 
when closely followed by a checker who strikes at 
the butt of your crosse. The Indians often use it 
with effect. It is done by simply throwing the ball 
a few feet in front as you run, and picking it up 
again. If your stick is struck very hard from the 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 155 

rear, this dropping is useful. The ball may be 
dropped at any angle, or more deliberately thrown a 
further distance. 

6. Past either side or between the legs of a 
checker, — As you approach your opponent, bring 
your crosse to the position of the dodger, in illustra- 
tion 8 ; watch his eye, and throw the ball low past his 
right side, following it up as you run. If his legs are 
open, you may throw between them. These two throws 
are very puzzling, as the throw from the crosse is so 
sudden. The manner of carrying the crosse helps 
the deception. 

It may be well here to state, that thrown dodges 
are more deceptive and more suddenly done, when 
the crosse is held with both hands, as in illustrations 
8 and 9. 

Bodging into Groal, — May be either a carried or 
thrown dodge, and is useful where a dodger has only 
goal-keeper in the way. It is not always successful, 
and a good goal-keeper would prefer it to a short 
throw. The old members of the Beaver Club will 
remember Stewart's style of charging the goal-keeper 
when he carried the ball. S. was seen bearing 
down upon goal like a trooper, lips compressed, head 



156 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

forward. The shock came, — general result, one ball, 
two crosses, Stewart and goal-keeper, all in a heap 
in the goal, and one flag pole down. 

Stooping down in dodging — Is a good way to 
vary your defence, when an active checker tackles 
you at either side, or from the rear. Lower your 
crosse almost level with the ground, bend forward, 
and keep one leg ready to spring from. When 
checker tries to check from any of the above points, 
bend forward, and turn your back to him, covering 
your crosse as well as possible with your body. If 
you should trip, and the ball falls off your crosse, 
cover it with the flat check. 

Feigning to throw, — When checker is close to 
you, make a feint to throw a swift straight ball, 
which he will probably shrink up to avoid. Instantly 
dart past him, carrying the ball with you, or throw- 
ing over his head. If you have any reputation for 
hard throwing, and make a proper feint, you will, in 
most cases, accomplish your object. 

Inviting a cheeky and evasion, — You may tempt 
the checker to strike at your crosse in a certain 
way, which would give you a better chance to pass 
him before he could recover. If you premeditate 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 15T 

a certain dodge, you may often facilitate it better 
by thus inviting a check, which, by the way, you 
must not invite, unless you feel positive of success. 
Single evasive movements to right or left are often 
sufficient to prevent a check. A single dodge has- 
often to be made good by an extra evasion. This 
art of avoidance is important in dodging. 

The best way to learn all manner of dodges is for 
two men to practise checking and dodging, alter- 
nately, without the hall. When you learn the rudi- 
ments of dodging with the ball on your crosse, your 
action is embarrassed in endeavoring to preserve its- 
equilibrium ; but by practising first without it, until 
you learn the principles and knack of the dodges, it 
becomes easier to put the ball on the netting and 
attempt them. When you are " waiting for the 
ball" at the morning meets, pair ofi* and practise 
this. It would be unnecessary to give rules for the 
various combinations of dodging, which arise out 
of those already mentioned, as well as from checks 
and counter-checks. Dodging involves a peculiar 
gymnastics, which brings out various twistings and 
bondings, in which the whole body partakes. 
" Battles are won with legs as well as arms," and 



158 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

the proper use of the former is half the victory 
in dodging. Without activity of hmb your play is 
stiff and incomplete. Some men show great inven- 
tion in play, and particularly in the art of managing 
their extremities in dodging. I suppose the lady 
who sent the dedicatory poem to a club some years 
ago, referred to these contortions of limb in dodging, 
when she said, 

" I wonder at the players' gait, 
For crooked legs predominate!^^ 

though she afterwards, with artless innocence of the 
shape of unbreeched shanks, says, 

"And yet, perhaps, I should suppose, 
They're caused by wearing tightened hose." 

Frisking the ball forms an important auxiliary of 
dodging. Indeed, there is no part of Lacrosse which 
can be ignored by any man ambitious of being 
a crack player : everything is affiliated in interest, 
and during the use of any paTt, all others are as 
satellites — always at hand as accessories. Dodging, 
without a knowledge of checking, generally comes to 
grief. It is a good rule to make it subservient 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 159 

to throwing ; not to do away with it altogether 
as that would ruin the game. 

A few concluding rules, and we are done with 
this chapter. In the excitement of successful dodging 
remember your original position on the field ; it is 
an important one, return to it as fast as your legs 
can carry you, after you have lost the ball. 

If the defence of your antagonists is weak, your 
home and two outward links may attempt to carry 
the ball into goal, but throwing is better. 

Point, cover-point, and the fianking links from 
goal-keeper to cover-point, should hardly ever make 
charges , upon the enemy's goal, — though there is 
no law to prevent them ; neither should there be. 
Even the ubiquitous fielders should not give free 
license to a passion for dodging. 

Never attempt to dodge near your own goal. 
The worst player may perhaps check you, by 
accident if not by skill. When the ball is at either 
goal, no risk should be run in experimenting. Keep 
your wits about you, and look out for rear 
checks. Remember you are to avoid a checker 
in preference to dodging him. Be prompt ; never 
hesitate. The best dodge may be frustrated by an 



160 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

ordinary check, who is a second or so too quick 
for you. Avoid clumsiness and rash dodging. 
Never press the ball into the leading-string in 
any way before you dodge. 

Do not attempt dodging when you are not 
" i' the vein." Success implies vim and mettle. 

Checking- — Nothing in Lacrosse makes one feel 
more throughly awkward than to be passed point-blank 
by a dodger, and find a well-aimed check strike 
mother earth, instead of the opposing crosse. The 
thing looks so simple at first sight. You have 
nothing to control, while your antagonist is limited 
to certain movements to preserve the ball. Yet^ 
when you think about it, you will perceive that 
the advantage a checker has in not having a ball 
to manage, is often counteracted by the fact that 
while he has to act on the spontaneous impulse 
of the moment, in the majority of cases, the dodger 
can pre-determine his dodge, and have the advantage 
of the start. If you, as checker, can check before 
he begins his dodge, it may be luckier, and it may 
not ; as some of the best players invite a check, 
the better to facilitate their purpose. The danger of 
anticipating a dodge is, that if you miss, you 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 161 

not only miss that certain stroke, but lose the perfect 
command of your crosse for succeeding play. 

Checking, it must be remembered, is both 
attack and defence. When you run out to tackle 
an opponent carrying the ball, you literally attack 
him: when you stand to receive an opponent, 
determined upon passirg you, you act, as it were, on 
the defensive. The circumstances of each are not 
the same, though your object is. If you go out 
to tackle, you succeed when you take the ball or 
compel its possessor to throw it ; when you stand 
on the defensive, you succeed if you prevent him 
carrying it past you. 

In the cases of attack, checking is not so 
frequently extempore as in defence. 

A skilful checker will seldom let a dodger pass 
him successfully. Quick eyes, an elastic body and 
extremities, pluck and perseverance, are the shining 
virtues of a checker ; and as perfection in this 
department materially restrains dodging, it should 
be well cultivated. Good checks are worth more on 
a twelve than men reputed for dodging. 

The perfection of a good checker is not only 

certainty in "disarming" a dodger, but the 

M 



162 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

appreciation of his duty as laid down in the chapter 
on " Fielding." In whatever position you are, you 
must become convinced that to be enticed away 
from your original position, more than is 
necessary, is the cardinal sin of a Lacrosse player. 
When to leave or retire, and when to remain, is 
beyond the appointment of any established rule. 
However sure a check you may be, you should never 
be anxious to leave your position, to check men 
who ought to be stopped by some other of your side. 
Wlien a man finds himself a special terror to dodgers, 
he is too apt to undertake the checking of the entire 
field of opponents, thereby causing confusion in his 
own ranks. 

Our laws allow any strength of attack at one 
dodger, but it is the custom among the St. Regis 
Indians not to interfere between two adversaries, 
unless at goal ; so that the dodger has only one 
opponent at a time to avoid. This Indian play 
would not answer for our small fields and our 
improved game. We prefer trusting to the common 
sense of the men, and the directing genius of a 
Captain. 

In some checks you can only use one hand, but as 



1 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 163 

a rule, the most effective and manageable checking 
is done with both hands on the crosse. 

We will give the checks in succession, for the 
dodges described in the previous chapter. 

CARRIED DODGE CHECKS. 

1. Plain check. — As the dodger advances with 
the ball on his crosse, and attempts the dodge 
described in section 1st, on " Dodging," strike at his 
crosse anywhere within a few inches of his hand, 
before he brings it quite across from right to left. 
If you can can strike it just after it has passed the 
front of his body, you weaken his attempt much more 
than if you strike it before, because the position 
in which it finds his right arm is awkward for 
quick recovery. A feint to strike may be made 
at the side he carries, and if you recover quick and 
act promptly, success is only a matter of practice. 
Ordinary dodgers have only one movement, from right 
to left ; it is comparatively easy to check them. 
Good dodgers, however, deceive you by feints, 
and invitations to check ; especially in this plain 
dodge. The impotent checks of many players is 
owing to their innocence of feints and invited checks, 



164 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

mistakes in timing, and slowness in handling the 
/crosse. 

In this check the length of your stroke, and the 
action of your whole body is guided by the position 
of the dodger's crosse. No rule can teach you the 
principle for every action — nothing but practice 
and observation. The variety of movements of the 
crosse, in checking the plain dodge, is beyond 
enumeration, as the twists, thrusts, strokes and 
various turnings are so often altered, according to 
circumstances which we can never foresee until the 
moment of action. 

The upward check is very important, either as a 
premeditated check, or when recovering from a 
down stroke, and may be brought into service in a 
great number of cases. It is simply bringing up 
your crosse from the ground, and hitting the dodger's 
from under. 

The circular check is done by swinging your crosse 
in a circle, around the front of your opponent, so as to 
strike his crosse, wherever it may be, during the 
plain dodge. If you miss this, recover by the upward 
check. 

2. When dodger tries to pass your left. — Turn 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 165 

quickly to the left face, and aim at arm's length at 
the nearest part of the dodger's crosse, making a 
leap at the same instant to intercept him and get to 
close quarters. If he has a short grip, you may, 
perhaps, hit his stick from the rear. The difference 
in this check from the preceding is, that the dodger's 
crosse is further away from your instant reach, 
requiring more agihty of body to get into good 
position to meet him. The upward check is often 
here available to advantage. 

3. When the dodger turns on a pivot. — Strike 
the dodger's crosse above the collar, as high as 
possible. If his grasp is short, you may sometimes 
strike the handle without hurting him, and quicker 
than you could hit higher. Check the moment 
he revolves, either with one or both hands on 
your stick, and beware of hitting your opponent 
on the head. If you miss a strike during the 
revolution, follow close and check upwards as he 
is bringing his crosse down to the carry. 

4. Short-stop and turn dodge, — However well 
you can manoeuvre your crosse, your skill will be 
of no avail to meet this dodge, without an unusually 
strong and supple pair of legs, and an elasticity 



166 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

of action from head to toe. To defeat it, you 
must do it as much by virtue of your legs as 
your crosse. If the dodger keeps his back to 
you, your chances are diminished, as by simply 
turning and keeping his distance he can often 
keep your check in rear until you get close. The 
play, then, is to close in as quick as possible, 
sweep your crosse at the side of his, or, leaping 
up, pass it quickly over his head, and bring it 
down upon his netting. If the butt is projecting in 
his hand, strike it ; if his wrist prevents you hitting 
on top or at the side, strike upwards under his 
wrist. I remember an Indian, following close at a 
white man's heels, succeeding in dislodging the ball 
from his opponent's crosse, by a strong thrust at the 
extreme butt end, which was just visible in the rear. 
When a dodger is too much for a checker, and 
chooses to prance around his vicinity, another 
check should run out and spoil his strategy. It 
is, of course, necessary, that in making this 
movement, whatever is intended should be made 
like a flash, so as not to give time to opposing 
fielders to rally, or the unchecked man whom the 
reinforcer has left, to gain any great advantage. 



I 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 167 

5. When the dodger attempts to sweep his 
erosse over your head. — If you have made a 
previous check, and dodger carries his erosse 
upwards over your head, bring your erosse to the 
right side, perpendicularly, and make a backward 
half-circular sweep from right to left, which is 
intended to meet his erosse as it sweeps over 
your head ; or you may make a direct upward 
strike, at that part of his erosse which is between 
your body and his hand. 

6. When closely following a dodger, — If you 
cannot get at his stick anywhere in rear as you 
run, incline a little to the right, make a leap 
forward, and bring your erosse in a sweep to his 
right front, the tip in towards his erosse. Turn 
your wrist so as to bring the tip down upon his 
erosse. A full arms length upward check, is often 
the most successful. If this fails, the dernier ressort 
is the straight thrust at the butt. 

THROWN-DODGE CHECKS. 

1. When the hall is thrown over your head. — 
In all cases make an attempt to strike opponent's 
erosse at the moment it is raised to throw. If 



168 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

you do not succeed, and the ball goes over your 
head, turn sharp around and dart after it, at the 
same time making a long full-length cut at either the 
ball or opponent's crosse. If you get to it before your 
antagonist, tip it away ; if your opponent reaches it 
first, you must check him according to his position. 
Few players have the art of wheeling quickly around. 
The best check, however, for such thrown-dodges, 
is hitting or blocking the ball in front of you, as 
it is going over your head, which kind of check 
needs a very accurate quick eye, and a great 
deal of confidence. 

2. When dodger makes a rear throw. — Instantly 
spring towards the direction the ball is thrown, and 
make a long stroke at it or your opponent's stick. 
The greatest chances of success in this check depend 
upon the way you dart forward at first. 

3. When dodger lets you strike his crosse, — If 
you knew a dodger was about to attempt the Indian 
trick described in section 3rd, on " Dodging," it would 
hardly be possible for him to do it successfully. Its 
success depends a good deal upon its surprise. 

When a dodger lets you strike his crosse, he only 
calculates upon one stroke. The check, therefore^ 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 169 

for this dodge, is to make a quick succession of 
down, side, or upward strokes — as indeed is useful 
wherever possible. Sometimes you may hit the 
ball as it is in the air. 

4. When counter-checked^ it becomes a struggle 
for the possession of the ball, unless a succeeding 
check again gives you the advantage, and frisking 
or tipping is your play. 

5. When the dodger drops and picks up the hall 
on the run^ and you are too far to dispute his liberty 
to do so, and cannot make a sufficiently hard stroke 
at any part of his crosse to give you an advantage, 
spring in to close quarters ; but if you cannot, simply 
make a thrust at the extreme butt of his stick, from 
the rear, as he is about picking up the ball. This 
has the effect of pushing the front of his crosse out 
of the line of his calculation, and necessitating a 
second attempt to pick up, which is for you a gain 
of time, when you may close in to get a more 
effective check. If he is running at any extra speed 
and misses picking up the ball, you will have time 
to get to it before he can recover. 

6. When the dodger attempts to throw past your 
either side^ the proper thing is to block the ball just 



170 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

as a goal-keeper would, as seen in illustration 8. A 
side cut is serviceable, but by all means try to 
prevent the ball passing you. 

When the dodger stoops^ you must guard against 
the temptation to shove him over, as was the custom 
some years ago. Your best resource is to cut either 
sideways, or sweep over his head and down in front. 
If the ball is thrown by the dodger, the first principle 
should be to stop it. He may throw past your right 
or left side, when you should turn around towards 
the direction of the ball and endeavour to capture it. 

Othe7* modifications of checking adapt them- 
selves to circumstances. An excellent check, in 
cases where the ball is nearing an opponent, is to 
strike his stick as he attempts to catch or stop it, 
as seen in illustration 7. This rule may be carried 
into every part of the game, where you wish to 
deprive an opponent of a catch, and may be done in 
many cases, such, for instance, as when an attempt 
is made to pick up the ball, to catch, to block, etc. 

THE COVER CHECK. 

If the ball is on the ground cover it with your 
crosse as seen in Illustration 4, having the wood 



BODGING AND CHECKING. 171 

towards the direction from which your antagonist is 
approaching, if he approaches from either side ; if from 
the immediate front, cover with the reverse side to 
which you play. When a rush is made for it, depress 
the handle of your crosse so as to bring it almost 
level with the ball, holding it down stiff so as to 
secure it. Your antagonist, if running at any 
speed, will make an attempt to pick up under 
your crosse, but the instant he attempts it, depress 
your stick, and the probability is that his will slide 
over yours, and before he can recover you can 
pick up without opposition. The crosse must be 
first kept as seen in the illustration, to deceive your 
opponent and invite him to thrust at the ball; and 
must afterwards be depressed to secure it, and to 
occasion the slide of your opponent's crosse. Neither 
movement must be done too soon, lest he has time to 
calculate and draw up ; nor too late, lest you are 
prevented covering the ball. Sometimes, though a 
player cannot stop suddenly enough, he will make 
a strike at your crosse as he is passing, and generally 
just at your lower grasp. In such a case, draw your 
left hand away when you see the stroke coming, 
keeping the stick down firm with the right. 



172 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

There are many chances of using the cover check, 
or either part of it. It has become a peculiarity of 
Indian play, and is very successful on any field. 
The Indians credit us with its invention in 1859, 
when we showed it to the interpreter at Caughna- 
waga. None of the crack Indian players then knew 
it. 

FEIGNED THROWS, INVITED CHECKS, EVASIONS. 

A perfect dodger will feign to throw, to spoil your 
position for checking and give himself a better 
chance to accomplish some premeditated dodge. 
The mistake of tyros is checking too soon and too far 
from the dodger, and letting out too much force, 
beyond recovery. Old players know this when they 
coax your stroke at a certain point. If you can hit 
an invited check, do it in preference to the after 
dodge ; but beware of putting so much force into it, 
that if you miss, you cannot recover in time to make 
a succeeding stroke. In feigned throws, spring at 
the dodger's crosse, and never fear them. Fielders, 
as a rule, are too frightened of closing in to any 
attempt to throw. The Indians have a way of 
avoiding a hard throw by leaping up as they check. 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 173 

Evasions are only checkmated by quick leg action 
and long strokes. 

UP, DOWN, AND SIDE STROKES. 

The most of checks used to be downwards ; but 
as Lacrosse has improved and new methods of 
dodging been added, upward and side strokes have 
become a necessity. The upward and side strokes 
are useful, when you have made and missed the down 
hit, and cannot recover in time to repeat it ; also 
in the various exigencies and opportunities, when the 
down stroke would be an experiment or a failure. 
All checks depend upon the position of the dodger's 
crosse, and it is important to know when and how to 
use the different strokes. The best way to learn this 
and every other part of checking, is to pair off and 
practice quietly. You cannot experiment in the 
excitement of a game, and only cool heads discover. 

Part of Crosse to use, — When you strike the 
netting of dodger's crosse, always, if possible, bring 
the full face of your netting to the direction of your 
stroke ; but if you hit the bare stick, you may strike 
without bringing the netting to bear. The former 
rule is more effectually to dislodge the ball, the latter 



174 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

to spare the netting unnecesssry hard work. Learn 
to reverse your stick so as to bring either side to 
bear. When you hit with the stick above, give your 
wrist a turn to bring the netting flat on your op- 
ponent's crosse. Do not try to hook the tip in his 
net-work. 

Quickness in delivering the stroke, — Shakspere's 
aphorism may apply to checking in Lacrosse — " If 't 
were done, when 'tis done, then 't were well it were 
done quickly." Free, strong wrists and arms, in 
sympathy with a quick body and mind, make the 
valuable checker. Fencing, as an exercise, brings 
out the necessary qualifications of a good checker, 
who sometimes anticipates, and is always ready for 
guard while acting on the attack. Very often it is 
absolutely necessary to check with one hand. Some 
of the finest checks are made thus, and every player 
should practice it, as it can often be done quicker 
than with two. 

Persistency in checking is the marked indi- 
vidualism of Indian play. Wherever the ball falls, 
there under it, near it, or after it is a red-skin. 
Indeed, they carry their individual persistency in 
checking to such an extent when playing against 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 175 

the pale face, as to neglect all disposition and 
arrangement ; bunching in knots at the goals in 
defence and attack, and bearing down in twos and 
threes upon the dodger, as in their old strategy in 
war — always having the most men at the point of 
attack. The pale face is not as persistent, because 
his wind is not as good ; but there is always a vein 
of laziness, and a stupid immoveableness at some 
points that needs correction. Second strokes and 
counter checks are important ; but you may do as 
much by following a dodger carrying the ball, as by 
changing your base to intercept him, as if you had a 
chance for a close check. Supposing you are placed 
as nearest field to cover point, the tactics of a dodger 
about to pass within a radius of at least forty feet of 
your position on an ordinary-sized Lacrosse field, will 
be guided by your anticipatory movements in flank- 
ing him. If you remain where you are, and he runs 
a clear course until he passes you, or if you are in 
the habit of giving up the battle after a slight 
struggle, he will rather prefer the little excitement 
of a deliberate dodge than the unchecked run. But 
if you move out energetically, you may check him 
if he attempts to dodge, or you may make his throw 



176 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

of no avail. Get up a reputation for persistent 
checking, and your value cannot be estimated. 

It is not uncommon to see a good dodger, hard 
pressed, lose the ball from sheer nervousness, and 
the best calculated throw ruined, because of the 
proximity of a checker. The golden rule, therefore, 
is " never give up." Even if down on your marrow- 
bones, stick to it as long as you can. The pluck 
and persistency of the hero in the ballad of Chevy 
Chase may be a worthy example, who, 

" When his legs were smitten off, 
He fought upon his stumps." 

Rough Checking, — Nothing has done more injury 
to Lacrosse than rough play in general, and rough 
checking particularly; and it is a lamentable fact 
that certain individuals stand out so prominent for 
maiming their antagonists, as to suggest some more 
valid reason for such play than mere accident. In 
the ordinary business and associations of life, there 
is a community of interest and courteousness which 
puts the barier upon rough conduct ; but in a field 
sport, there is an abandon and a little of that return 
to the original barbarism of our ancestors, which, 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 17T 

though very good for the blood, is not equally salu- 
brious for the temper. Men agree to disagree in 
sports as they do in politics, without being deadly 
foes ; and the finest man, is he who combines the 
earnestness of the player — like the politician — with 
the fair play and manliness of the man. 

'Tis said, " a fellow feeling makes us wondrous 
kind," but it is not always a true maxim ; or fear of 
getting back what is given, if not love of fair play, 
would put an end to rough play in Lacrosse. 

If you are vindictive, and choose to pour out the 
phials of your wrath upon a player you do not happen 
to admire, you could not have a better chance than 
when you follow him as a checker. Emphatic checking 
is always necessary — mere tips and touches go for 
nothing ; but if you cannot discriminate between a 
man's head and fingers, and his crosse, you should 
not risk your own, or play Lacrosse. There is no 
reason why checking should not be so perfected as 
to make hitting an opponent a mark of bad play, as 
is implied in our laws, and even agreed upon by the 
Indians when playing among themselves. In Caugh- 
nawaga and St. Regis, you may occasionally see 
rough play, since they learned it from us^ but the 



178 DODGING AND CHECKING. 

general rule is the reverse. If a red-skin should 
hold, trip, throw or push his adversary, he has to 
" face " on the spot where the offence occurred, and 
several repetitions by the same man puts him in 
disrepute. 

The laws relating to spiked soles, holding, striking, 
pushing, &c., were necessary, because of the license 
to rough play, of which there was formerly too much 
to make Lacrosse attractive, to anybody who valued 
the use of his hands and head. The resignation of 
one of the best players of the first twelve of the old 
Montreal Club, who was passionately fond of the 
pianoforte, and found himself debarred from practice 
by maimed fingers, is not too old for recollection, 
and there are players carrying indellible reminis- 
cences of rough play, who can testify to the 
injurious effects on the game, of the old manslaugh- 
tering style. 

The perfection of checking is to check without 
hitting your opponent. Cultivate several styles of 
checking, as one cause of injury to the dodger, is 
attempting to apply one mode of checking to every 
style of dodging. A cool dodger is more likely to 
hoodwink you than a rash one, and you require to 



DODGING AND CHECKING. 179 

meet both with cool promptness. If you have a 
narrow hmit for play, and a difficult dodge to over- 
come, take the Irish maxim, " Be aisy, and if you 
can't be aisy, be as aisy as you can." 

Greneral Mules. — Do not be afraid of swift balls or 
close throws. One great beauty of checking, is to 
stop a thrower's shot when within a few feet of his 
crosse. Keep your eyes on the ball. Improvise 
checks when you can, according to circumstances ; 
for in the infinite variations of close play, occasions 
arise for checks that you cannot anticipate. 

Dodging and checking are so interwoven that yon 
need a knowledge of both to be perfect in either. 
Checks will be the more efiective, if you know just 
how the dodges are done, and vice versa. 

Guard against the habit of reinforcing one of your 
side, who has only a single opponent to contend with, 
unless the latter practises the " short stop and turn," 
without the check being able to defeat him, when the 
nearest player of the same side should assist him. 



CHAPTER XI. 

PICKING UP, TIPPING, FRISKING, ETC. 

Picking up, — To pick up the ball, keep, and fully 
control it on the netting of the crosse, is necessarily 
the A B C of the game, and yet, by no means, an 
easy accomplishment. Simple as it looks, and easy 
as it may be to a skilful player, it is " the very 
mischief" to a novice. It is impossible to be a 
reliable player unless able to pick up with facility, 
and the two following practices should be gone 
through with, before venturing to enter into the heat 
of a game :^ 

1st. Picking up in one motion — -Stand a crosse's 
length from the ball, with the left foot advanced. 
Draw the crosse back about a foot from the ball, 
and, striking straight at and under it, scoop up in 
one quick, sharp motion. 

2nd. Picking up in two motions. — Cover the ball 
with the top surface of the netting, draw it towards 



PICKING UP, TIPPING, FRISKING, ETC. 181 

you quickly to make it roll, and scoop up as in one 
return motion forwards. 

The ball may be picked up, by the first practice, 
when it is coming towards or going from you fast, or 
when steady : the latter practice generally applies 
only to occasions when the ball is comparatively 
steady. It will be remembered, that picking up is 
much facilitated, by shaving the part of the top of the 
turn which touches the ground. 

Tipping the hall. — Tipping is the issue of close 
practice and precious moments, and is important, not 
only as a dernier resort when there is not time 
to pick up, but as a principal practice in Frisking, 
and a very excellent part of the duties of a home- 
man. The ball is simply tipped with either side 
of the top or bend of the curve and netting, and may 
be done forcibly by striking, or, more gently, by 
placing the stick at the ball and jerking it from the 
ground. We knew a home-man, whose forte it was 
to stand near goal, and tip the ball to the flags if it 
condescended to come within the reach of his crosse. 
He was the laziest mortal ever seen on a Lacrosse 
field ; he was never known to disturb his equanimity 
by a run, but, if the ball came anywhere within the 



182 PICKING UP, TIPPING, FRISKING, ETC. 

circuit of his crosse, it was generally caught on the 
wing, or hooked from the ground and tipped into the 
flags like a shot. A quick tip from a short distance 
is more puzzling to a goal-keeper than a clean throw. 

Swiping the hall. — Any one knows, instinctively, 
the difference between a tip and a swipe ; and, though 
swinging the crosse in front, or at the side of the 
body, and hitting the ball, as in shinty, is not actually 
prohibited, it is generally deemed unfair, and is 
repudiated by all good players. It has not a shadow 
of skill to excuse it, is dangerous and unnecessary, 
and is not only a death-blow to science, but destroys 
the originality and beauty of the game. 

Kicking — Often helps to introduce pretty and 
effective play. Some have proposed to prohibit it 
under certain circumstances, but it is one of those 
points of play which must either be allowed ad libitum^ 
or entirely done away with, as any half measure, 
one way or the other, would only lead to endless 
dispute. The use of the feet is, however, important 
in close play, not only for kicking, but for guiding 
and guarding, and may be used when there is even 
not time' for tipping. The Indians use the feet a 
great deal around an enemy's goal, and thereby 



183 

interfere with the free action of the goal-keeper, while 
they do their best to kick the ball into goal. 

Frisking the ball. — In close play you may point out 
the scientific from the brute-force player, as easily as 
you can pick silver coin from among copper. Though 
the play of the old school is not to be ignored, it is 
not the paragon of to-day, even though it should 
sometimes succeed against the present more studied 
game. To improve Lacrosse, and not detract from 
its native merits, we must agree to the systematic 
conformity, intended in the regulations which guide 
the game. Unscientific play m any game has 
sometimes been more eifective than its antithesis, as 
poor shots . have sometimes made bull's-eyes when 
champions have missed altogether ; but the more 
head-work put into such a game as Lacrosse, the 
more beautiful and less rough it will become. 

Among the improvements in general play we 
must recognize one peculiar feature of close contests, 
which is becoming a specialty and a mark of the true 
artiste in Lacrosse. Occurring only at close quarters, 
and sometimes lasting but a few seconds, it is the 
foreshadowing of a scientific game, and an evidence 
that there is more scope for development than gene- 



184 PICKING UP, TIPPING, FRISKING, ETC. 

rally believed. At present this specialty of close 
play is in its adolescence, but gives token of a 
development which must eventually oust much of 
the shillelahing of rough players. Its very first 
principle is the avoidance of roughness, and the 
getting out of difficulties, and overcoming opponents 
"without breaking sticks or heads, or swiping, or any 
manner of play which partakes of rough-and-tumble. 

It is easier to explain this mode of play than to 
give it a name, so we will risk it and call it " Frisking 
the ball." We would define it as the quick feat§ 
done, instantaneously, in passing one or more check- 
ers ; in hooking the ball out from a crowd of oppo- 
nents ; titilating it on the crosse ; capering it upon the 
ground, within a radius of ten feet. It embraces 
throwing, catching, carrying, dodging and checking, 
all in one, and needs a remarkable agility of body^ 
which is only secondary to the quick and clever use 
of the crosse. 

When the ball is on the ground, frisking consists in 
filching it out from among feet and crosses, hooking 
it towards you, and from right and left, and vice 
versa^ and between your legs; and the general, 
quick, varied play designed to frustrate similar 



PICKING UP, TIPPING, FRISKING, ETC. 185 

attempts on the part of your opponents, and to secure 
the ball to yourself for further proceedings. Some- 
times you require a short grasp of your crosse ; at 
other times the longest reach possible, using both 
sides alternately as you tip and draw the ball, or 
shield it, as it were, from the strokes and drags 
of your antagonist. 

In ground frisking, the feet may be used to tip and 
kick the ball in various ways, as in football. At other 
times the feet are in the way of some effective hits, 
and little leaps, especially if running,are often useful in 
giving room to hit close. The various feats of ground 
frisking which arise during close play, are beyond 
description, and yet no rules can be given for any. 
Some players have a remarkable aptitude for getting 
the ball close to their feet, and puzzling their oppo- 
nents by this manner of frisking. We remember 
seeing an Indian get the bal) between his heels, and, 
leaping up, kick it straight up behind, and, turning 
around, catch it as it descended, and make off with 
it, while his opponent was looking for it in another 
direction. 

Practice for ground frisking by toying the ball in 
front of you, alone, or with another player, and, no 



186 PICKING UP, TIPPING, FRISKING, ETC. 

matter how simple it seems, you will find it good 
exercise. Tip it to right, then to left, then out and 
in, and around, and between and at the back of your 
feet. Practice tipping to the right with the bend 
and the tip of the crosse. A very good practice is 
frisking with a young and smart setter — ^your crosse 
versus his teeth and paws. It will teach you many 
little feints. 

High frisking, when the ball is not on the ground, 
is quite a different play, but needs a like expertness 
in handling the crosse and mastering the ball. It 
can hardly be premeditated, but opportunities are 
often afforded for its practice in close contests. It 
comprises all quick, successive feats in playing with 
the ball in the air. 

When carrying through a gauntlet of checkers, or 
when catching, after throwing over your own or an 
opponent's head, a pretty and most invaluable play is 
to titilate or dandle the ball upon the netting. Some 
of the best dodgers use this very much, the ball 
never being on the netting when the crosse is struck 
at by the checker. 

A great deal of showy play may be introduced in 
frisking, — such as playing with the ball on the top of 



187 

the curve, tapping it up, and catching or titilating. 
There are times when a descending ball may be 
wisely checked in its descent, and tapped away by 
the top of the curve. 

Another neat play in frisking is to gently touch 
descending or straight balls with the opposite side of 
the netting to which you carry, and, quickly bringing 
down your crosse, catch before the ball touches the 
ground. 

Several skilful and neat feats can be done, intro- 
ducing tips, balancings, and twistings. Did you ever 
try to revolve the crosse, and the ball with it, with- 
out letting the latter off the netting ? The rule to 
do it is to keep the ball close to the wooden part of 
the crosse, and, if you carry on the right side, revolve 
the stick quickly, by a turn of the wrist, from right 
to left : if you carry on the left side, revolve it from 
left to right. The closer the ball is to the wood, the 
shorter its turn, and the less chance of it being 
thrown off in revolving. This feat may be so per- 
fected, when the crosse is held in a high and horizontal 
position, as to be made a useful part of dodging. 

A " dying-bounce " ball is one that strikes the 
ground more than once before touched, and, like a 



188 PICKING UP, TIPPING, FRISKING, ETC. 

cramped swimmer, is giving its last kick. Sometimes 
you may make something of these balls by hitting 
them on the bounce to make them bounce higher, 
which may secure you a catch in a position, when 
a forward pick-up would bring your crosse into the 
neighborhood of checking. 

We might as well advise you here, as elsewhere, 
to drop your crosse, when it is trodden upon, rather 
than run the probable alternative of a fracture. If 
you feel you are going to tread on a crosse, leap up 
and over it. 



CHAPTER XII. 



PIELDING. 



Next to a persistent engagement around a goal, 
the great and exciting charm of Lacrosse is in the 
ever-varying incidents and vicissitudes of the Field- 
ing, — the gladiatorial contests, the agile feat, the 
sudden rally, the skirmish, the running fight. Its 
aspects are so vascillating, and its situations so 
changeable, that no moment of play is like the play 
that preceded it: different men are after the ball 
in a different way, and every circumstance out on 
the field, as well as every crisis at the flags, has 
the fascination of novelty. A new player is sooner 
marked by his fielding and his sense of his indi^ 
vidual responsibility, than by any particular point 
of play. The play on the field is conspicuous, and 
there never fails to every man opportunity to 
distinguish himself, if he can. To be a good fielder 
is, therefore, a sine qua non of every player ; and 



190 FIELDING. 

men, ambitious of being on " The First Twelve,'^ 
have to " win their spurs " by indefatigable practice, 
and no kind of humbug. It embraces the leading 
and paramount part of the game, and the very 
pith of good play. 

Signals. — A member of a Club in Toronto sug- 
gested, in 1867, the use of certain signals, or a 
Club cry, among a twelve playing another, which 
seems feasible. For instance, there are moments 
when a man carrying the ball must either throw 
or run the risk of losing it, while, at the same 
time, he cannot venture to look for the nearest 
fielder of his side. Supposing one of his side is 
behind him, or in any position favorable for 
receiving the ball, the former calls out some such 
signal as "A" or "One," — the twelve being 
lettered alphabetically, or numbered in rotation ; 
or he shouts the Club cry. At once the man in 
possession of the ball throws where the sound 
came from. It should be a point of honor with 
the sides not to make use of each other's signals. 
The Toronto, and the Union Club of Guelph, and 
some others, have, we understand, a Club shout, 
which they use for the above purpose. 



FIELDING. 191 

Practising men for special positions. — It is 
essential that Goal-keeper, Point, Cover-Point, 
Centre and Home should be special men accus- 
tomed to those positions ; and we purpose giving 
their necessary qualifications and duties in this 
place. 

Croal-heeper. — (See Chapter xiii.) 

Point — Should stand in a line opposite Goal- 
keeper, at a distance of not more, usually, than 
forty feet, though his exact position should be 
regulated by the size of the ground, the disposi- 
tion of his nearest opponents, and the fortunes of 
the game. He has one of the most important 
posts on the field, — a sort of key of the de- 
fence, — needing considerable self-reliance. A good 
Point keeps many a ball from the goal, and, in a 
hard-pushed game, is of invaluable service. He is 
supposed to be destruction to all attempts at 
dodging, good for any "shouldering" if necessary, 
a good runner, and last, but not least, a fair 
goal-keeper : indeed, the perfection of Point is to 
combine the qualifications of every player with a 
reliableness which peculiarly marks his position. He 
should avoid dodging near his own goal ; be perfectly 



192 FIELDING. 

cool, collected, and prompt. He is essentially a 
defence, and, at the same time, a reserve and aid 
to the attack. He should always be on hand in 
hard-pressed games. When the ball is near or near- 
ing his goal, he should back up if necessary ; but, in 
close struggles, must avoid the cardinal sin of many 
Points — of backing upon the goal-keeper, thereby 
preventing him using his crosse with freedom, or 
seeing the ball. 

Point should be able to relieve goal-keeper, and 
perform his duty. 

Circumstances occur when he has to leave his 
position to charge down the field, follow the ball, or 
check an adversary at either flank. Cover-point or a 
fielder should then retire to his vacated post, and 
the positions of the former should also be replaced. 
It is dangerous, however, in a hard-pushed game, to 
leave his post farther than the line of cover-point ; 
but when the play is even, or favorable to his side, 
he may change posts with any of the fielders. If 
there is no captain to keep the men in their places, 
the links nearest any vacated position should keep 
their own eyes open and quickly take them up. 
Every position, of course, is movable, as your side 



FIELDING. 193 

is weak or strong, and you choose to avoid or 
foUowy our posted adversaries ; but, particularly 
at important places like Point, should the men be 
alive to changes. If it is absolutely necessary, 
in a strong attack, that your Point should go 
out, the nearest aid should invariably take up 
position between goal and cover-point, unless the 
attack has no men intervening. 

Point should act upon the suggestions of goal- 
keeper. It must be borne in mind that a slip at 
Point is generally harder to retrieve than elsewhere ; 
and that the fortune of the game is always increased 
in danger, in proportion to the nearness of the ball 
to your flags. It is absolutely necessary, then, that 
Point should be a thoroughly reliable man, and that 
his connecting links should always be on the alert 
for rapid support, retreat, or attack. 

Cover-Point — Should regulate his distance from 
Point on the same principle that Point regulates his 
from goal, and though considered less perma- 
nently fixed, he should never fail to be in his 
place when the game is against him. A Cover- 
point should possess every qualification of a Point. 

As a general thing, he has to stand more hard work, 

o 



194 FIELDING. 

and make more use of his legs ; sometimes having 
two or three antagonists to manage. He is more 
at liberty to dodge than Point, has more opportunity 
for field play, and may occasionally carry the ball 
down as far as he can go, and throw at goal ; but a 
fielder should always relieve him. As soon as he 
has '^ played his part," and got rid of the ball, he 
should retire to his original position. 

Point, Cover-point and Goal-keeper are a trio in 
defence, and need confidence in each other. The 
two former musb act in concert as to change of base, 
retiring, &c. We think the importance of these 
places has never been properly estimated : they 
make a defence either strong or weak. 

Centre. — As the early fortune of each game may 
depend upon the way the ball first goes — whether 
it is sent down towards the flags of your opponents, 
or up to your own, — the position of Centre offers 
no ordinary scope for skill. It is merely temporary, 
and only survives the starting of the ball ; but if the 
men are well posted, and Centre is able to send the 
ball to any particular one, the probabilities are that 
it goes up to the enemy's flags, and. may stay there, 
if the home attack is strong. The player facing 



FIELDING. 195 

is allowed more latitude of range ; he is supposed to 
be one of those ubiquitous few, who wander around, 
a terror to dodgers everywhere, and a puzzle to 
opposing checks. Good wind, good running capa- 
bilities, and a thoroughness in every part of the 
game, make him a valuable acquisition to a 
"twelve." 

Home — Should stand within eight or ten feet of the 
opposing goal, but must regulate his position according 
to the face of the game. He should always be the 
last of the fielding links towards the opponent's 
goal ; should stand, as a rule, to one side, at right- 
angles with the right of the goal-keeper, so as to 
success the ball in sideways. The goal-crease has 
prohibited him standing within six feet of the goal- 
keeper until the bath has passe Cover-point, 
and a courteous home should never entrench 
upon this rule. He should always be ready to move 
near to the goal-crease when the ball is thrown 
towards it, and may make across to either side, as 
the game is going. He should not squat imme- 
diately in front of the crease, nor yet go out too far. 
When the ball is thrown to him or the flags, either 
in the air, or along the ground, he should close in, 



196 FIELDING. 

and hit it, or catch it on the wing, and sweep it in. 
with force. Very often he has several antagonists to 
contend with, and several of his own side with whom 
to co-operate ; and must not only have wit to fight 
his foes, but sense to aid his friends. Though he m 
Home, a tip in proper time to one of his side near 
by, may be more useful than if he had aimed direct 
at the flags. 

Home should perfect himself in frisking the ball^ 
quick straight throwing from the front and sides, and 
quick playing into the crosses of his side. The Indian 
Home puts the ball in for long shots, but when 
several are near the crease, he is no more Home 
than any other. This is as it should always be. 
Any man throwing at goal, should prefer angle or 
diagonal to front balls. 

A sharp Home is the bugbear of a goal-keeper. 
He has opportunities for a specialty of play, and can 
develop a peculiar style, valuable to every man, 
but more especially so to himself. The ball comes 
to him in such a variety of ways, and so many 
changes occur in close contests around the flags, 
that he must exercise unusual sharpness and agility. 

Fielders and Fielding. — The eight fielders — 



FIELDING. 19T 

Centre being also a fielder — are the skirmishers of 
the " Twelve," and are supposed to be more 
ubiquitous and flitting than the rest, and to have 
greater freedom in moving on the field and following 
the ball ; though they have definite positions never- 
theless. In the fluctuations of the game, they must 
be prepared to assume the positions of the more 
fixed points, when the latter are drawn out by 
checking or running. The general rules laid down 
for other players apply as well to the fielders ; 
though no absolute rule can be made for the inva- 
riable conduct of an entire " Twelve," owing to 
the changes developed by the nature of the game. 
Every rule must be modified according to existing 
circumstances. It would be unreasonable, for 
instance, to make it a rule, that you should throw 
to the worst player ; but there may be moments 
when by so doing, a game may be won. With 
some opponents you progress better by a weak 
defence, and a proportionately strong attack, and 
vice versa. If you have confidence in your side, 
individually and collectively, it materially alters 
your play. In fact, the Lacrosse-player has to 
use his own judgment of the position of affairs ; 



198 FIELDING. 

and though guided by a captain, no captain can 
supersede individual judgment, nor obviate the 
necessity for every man keeping both his eyes 
open, for the advantages to be gained, and the 
defence to be guarded, in the wavering fortunes of 
the game. 

The eight fielders should be expert in every part 
of the game ; especially quick, accurate and en- 
during. As a first principle, they should play to 
each other, and to the more fixed points, and avoid 
the temptation for long wild throwing. Time wa^ 
when men could play a showy game, and establish 
a reputation for superiority : now there are too 
many practical critics ; Lacrosse is better under- 
stood, and a player who comparatively ignores the 
rest of his side, is put down as more vain than 
sagacious. There is a time to throw, and a time 
to dodge ; a time to advance and a time to retire ; 
and the perfection of fielding is to do all this 
neither too soon nor too late. 

Playing to each other, or " tacking " the ball, is the 
characteristic of Indian play ; and not until it was 
imitated by the pale-faces, did the latter show any 
chances of defeating the red-skin. Fielding degene- 



MELDING. 199 

rates into a melee without it, and the object of 
posting the men is defeated. The fielders should 
always keep the disposition of every man in vieWy 
and never waste a shot or unnecessarily break their 
wind. If tacking is adhered to, this intense exertion 
and wild play must have an end. 

It is easv to understand the merit of each man 
perfecting his own play ; — in fact, a good " Twelve " 
is always the result of individual progress : it is not 
that we deprecate, but the playing solely for effect 
and admiration ; the attempt to monopolize attention 
in so far as possible, and for the sake of separate 
applause, sacrifice the science of Lacrosse to 
hard running. It is vexing to a side to see a 
man persist in carrying the ball, when a throw to 
another in a better position would have accomplished 
the object more surely. To this pale-face fashion we 
have always attributed our defeats by the Indians 
They forget their individuality when hard pressed, 
and do not try to shine at risk of losing the ball. 
There is no egotism in their play when hard pushed ; 
they have a unity of aim and an alliance to play 
into each other's hands ; while we, working twice 
as hard, fail to combine our play or pin our faith 



200 PIELDING. 

to each other. Lately it has been improved, and 
our success, consequently, nearer consummation. 

Aside from the art of play, there is a combina- 
tion of mental and physical qualities required, for 
which no length of leg can compensate. When 
Lacrosse was " in its leading-strings," it was con- 
sidered the height of good fielding to rush frantically 
over the field, upset and be upset, and come out cut 
and bruised. If a man had shoulders like an Atlas, 
and the force of a battering-ram, he wa^s the pet of 
his " Twelve," and the terror of his adversaries. 
The practical use of the crosse was by no means to 
be sneered at ; indeed, in respect to the quick use 
of the stick, it was superior, in the home department, 
to the same art of to-day. The fielding, however, 
was very rough. To be spotted with mud from head 
to toe, was equal to a ribbon of the legion of honor, 
and a tough match was considered a cheap and 
capital way of draining mud puddles. There is 
more brain in the fielding and general play of to-day. 

It is an Indian instinct, and should be a pale-face 
principle in Lacrosse, that the ball should be followed 
on or off the crosse, by the link of men in succession, 
as they happen to be near it, and with discretion as 



FIELDING. 201 

to weakening one's side, by too much skirmishing 
from the vicinity of the man near whom you 
were originally posted. It is as important to follow 
a thrown ball which lights on the ground, as to give 
chase to a man carrying it, and the term " following 
the ball " includes both. 

The Indians do not let our men carry or chase the 
ball with impunity. They bear down upon them, 
though there is no chance of checking ; they never 
abandon the pursuit, and pale-face has to run a more 
literal gauntlet of checkers, than red-skin gene- 
rally meets with in his progress on the field. The 
fact that an opponent, seen or unseen, is on your 
track, is likely to excite and confuse you, and some- 
times spoil your throw. 

" Following the ball " in Lacrosse is not a general 
chase after it; — that would be as absurd as an 
entire " Eleven " chasing a cricket-ball. No man 
is restrained from following it, in accordance with 
his own judgment, and that of his captain ; but, as 
we said before, position should never be sacrificed, 
nor defence weakened, by too much skirmishing. 
It is well to give three or four men — not more — on 
a "' Twelve " limitless action. They flutter around the 



202 FIELDING. 

field in a raiding style, very useful in spoiling any 
pet disposition of the opponents, and preserving a 
balance of power ; alternating between attack and 
defence. They harass the enemy's goal, and are 
lions in the path of dodgers ; and if they do not 
attempt to play the whole game themselves, are 
invaluable anywhere and everywhere. They relieve 
any man, and support all, and fill a gap here and 
there in the nick of time. The beauty of this style 
is that the opposing checks at defence, never get 
used to the changeable character of the attack, 
consequent on the varied styles of the men, and 
that weak fielders are oftener sure of support, in 
case they fail in wind or ability. 

One great fault of pale-face play, is a lack of 
foresight in anticipating the spot a thrown ball will 
fall ; or rather the instantaneous action when the 
ball is thrown. The Indians do not wait to see 
where a ball will light before they chase it. They 
follow it the instant it leaves the crosse, and know, 
by the rise, exactly where it will drop. They 
retreat like a flash to the defence, if the ball goes 
towards their goal; or crowd down to the attack, 
if it goes towards that of their opponent. Where- 



FIELDING. 203 

ever the ball drops, one or more natives are under 
it, or at it. What folly to talk of " men never 
leaving positions " under the circumstances. 

Whenever the Indians can, they like to bunch at 
the goal. We would not advise such tactics in the 
pale-face game ; but if you ever play opponents who 
practise it, do not leave the defence to Goal-keeper 
and Point ; proportion your men to the numerical 
strength of the attack, always remembering that, 
though one man may be physically a match for two, 
no one man can do much between two antagonists 
tacking the ball over his head. Sir Colin Campbell 
received the Russian cavalry with a two-deep line, 
and made them turn tail ; but any parallel defence 
of confidence in men in Lacrosse, however perfect 
your goal-keeper and Point may be, is dangerous. 

A word about rough play. There is quite enough 
excitement in the quietest game without adding 
rough play to make it impetuous. Violent out- 
breaks of brute force are the death-blows to art, 
and not only injure the popularity of the sport, but 
tend to physical injury, sooner or later. Put a rough 
player where you will, and he shows roughness. In 
goal, he swipes at every ball ; on the field, he has 



204 FIELDING. 

no regard for his friends or foes, but throws full 
force, and swipes without mercy. There is always 
sufficient calls for exertion in ordinary fielding, 
without resorting to deliberate rough and homicidal 
play. Fierce checking and violent shouldering 
should be repudiated as contrary to the principles 
of the game. We have no objections to a good toss, 
and rather relish a tough tussle, but tossing and 
tussHng should not be a rule of play. Learn the 
art of handling the crosse to perfection, and the 
different dodges, checks, throws, etc., and you will 
require to pay less attention to the art of shouldering. 
Cultivate scientific play, and any other will be hate- 
ful, as swiping is to good cricketers. We may lay 
it down as a leading maxim in fielding, that the 
cause of success of noted rough players is not a 
principle to be imitated. Some old players, who 
esteem themselves superlative excellence, have a 
good deal to unlearn in this respect. We would not 
be misunderstood in our ideas upon rough play. We 
do not wish to be restricted to conformity to a code 
of Lacrosse ethics, which will deprive us of the 
relish of shouldering a man if we please, while strictly 
obeying the rule on " rough play," — especially 



FIELDING. 205 

if the said man be bigger and stronger ; but we 
repudiate the miscellaneous butting which in close 
contests, make men calculate what they will do with 
their shoulders instead of their crosse. 

We were invited by an Indian chief, at 
Caughnawaga, early one morning last summer, to 
witness a game of Lacrosse on the commouy 
among about thirty Indian residents ; and after 
watching a hard-fought game of an hour, the gentle 
savage turned to us, and said, in broken English : 
" You can't play Lacrosse like that. You smash 
heads, cut hands, make blood. We play all day ; 
no hurt^ except when drunks It is very rare 
that an Indian is injured or injures ever so slightly 
when playing with his fellow red-skins ; but when 
red meets white, then comes the tug of war — 
and we blame the latter for its development. 

There is one other important consideration in 
fielding, which men are likely to forget in the excite- 
ment of the game, — we refer to over-exertion. No 
man should use himself up by hard running, unless 
a hard run is unavoidably necessary. Keep your 
wind and endurance as fresh as possible for the last 
2!:ame. 



206 FIELDING. 

Should goal-keeper^ pointy cover-point and home 
always retain their positions ? — Last season there was 
considerable controversy on this question, with the view 
of making it a principle that the above men should 
" never leave their places." Young players and new 
clubs — especially those who never saw the game 
played, and consequently knew nothing to the con- 
trary — were deluded into the belief that it was 
correct ; and several queries on the subject came to 
us from different parts of Canada. Otherwise, we 
would not think it necessary to repudiate a pro- 
position, so patent a mistake to anyone who knows 
anything of Lacrosse. In the infancy of the game, 
it is well to definitely settle such issues, however, 
and we regret that such propositions are made 
without any previous experiment to justify them. 
Nothing is easier than to draw up plans for a 
grand campaign, but the difficulty lies in carrying 
them out. Nothing is easier than to propose fine 
theories in Lacrosse ; but, like the Fenian projects 
to take Canada, they look mightier on paper 
than they turn out in practice. 

It is well understood by the best Lacrosse-players 
everywhere, that no position in the game is, or ever 



FIELDING. 20T 

can be, absolutely permanent ; that they fluctuate in 
accordance with the wavering destinies of the ball 
and the circumstances which grow out of these 
changes. To make any one or more positions per- 
manent, would completely change the character^ 
and destroy the uniqueness and beauty of the game. 
It would be like some games of chess, where a single 
pawn could checkmate, if it only had the power to 
move hke a castle. It might be possible to have a 
perversion of Lacrosse, if two sides agreed to play 
with the above men permanently fixed, but a 
'' Twelve " playing on such a stagnating principle, 
would soon have their fine theories scattered to the 
winds, while they might almost as well be spectators 
as participants, for all the support they could 
give their fielders. It is not usual for a man 
carrying the ball to get in the way of opposing 
checkers, if he can help it ; and there would be less 
probability of it than now, if any certain men were 
"never to leave their places." The result, too, 
would be to over-tax and break down the fielders, 
and give either the attack or the defence men — as 
the game was going — a wearisome repose, instead 
of that division of labor which alone can make a 



208 PIELDING. 

^' Twelve " on a hard-fought field successful. It 
would be like holding a reserve of skirmishers in 
check until the advance were all cut off. In the 
chapter on " Goal-Keeping," we have endeavoured 
to show the necessity for goal-keeper sometimes 
leaving his place ; in describing the duties of Home, 
Point and Cover-point in the present chapter, we 
have also attempted to prove the same necessity 
in their cases. It may be well to illustrate this 
point more fully in its individual and collective 
bearings, as recognized both in Indian and pale- 
face play. 

The men chosen for the several particular points 
are their legitimate possessors, with prescriptive 
right at proper times to move out or in, or dash 
down the field ; but the vicinity they occupy should 
seldom be left vacant. If Point utterly forsakes his 
post. Cover-point or a near fielder should retreat to 
the vicinity ; if Cover-point leaves, an adjacent 
fielder should take his place. The fielders nearest 
at any time to the special points, are always their 
supposed supports, and should relieve and support 
them when necessary. 

The number of men on each side influences the 



FIELDmO. 209 

movements of the special points. If there are only 
twelve on a side, these points necessarily have more 
leg- work. 

We would like to see it made a rule that goal- 
keeper, Point and Cover-point— especially the two 
former— should limit their range to their half of the 
field, unless they made a permanent change, or the 
game was very favorable for their side. This would 
give them scope enough, would always ensure a 
good defence, and better systematize the posting of 
the men, as the adjacent fielders would know their 
original positions from their vicinity to these points, 
and would not be as likely to neglect them. Indeed, 
in difficult defence, this must necessarily be the 
management ; and in any case, it is the safest play. 
The exact position of Home must be governed by 
many circumstances. The ball is not always thrown 
to him in the same way, and sometimes not to him 
at all. If a fielder has a chance to carry a game 
safely, it would be folly throwing to Home, and 
trusting to him to put it in. Because a man is 
Home, it does not follow that he always has the best 
chance of scoring game. If the rule was absolute 
to throw to him, goal-keeper would have an easier 

P 



210 FIDLDING. 

time of it, and games would be of longer duration. 
Recall the strength of a rallying attack, where two 
or more opponents, tacking to each other, work the 
ball up to the flags ; how weak in comparison would 
be the solitary dependence upon Home ! Home 
often must " leave his place." Whenever he can 
get to a ball thrown wide or over the goal, before 
an opponent, and before any other man of his side, 
he should do so. If he, sooner than any of his 
side, can prevent an opponent getting the ball away 
from the goal, he should certainly do it. It often 
happens that he can reach wide and over balls 
before any other man of his own side, and prevent 
an opponent pitching it away from the critical 
vicinity. Whenever he leaves his place, under any 
such circumstance, the nearest link should close to 
the goal-crease, ready to strike in any throw ; while 
the other links dispose themselves to check the 
movements of adversaries who should run to the 
defence. 

We would not like to see Lacrosse so revolu- 
tionized as to make the permanency of any position 
compulsory, but the common sense of players should 
guard them against running to the other extreme. 



PIELDING. 211 

and forsaking them. Many otherwise good players, 
have a chronic habit of wandering from their posi- 
tion, and the vicinity of the man they are posted to 
check. 

And here it may be necessary to remind ad- 
mirers of Indian tactics, that we do not take the 
Indian as a perfect model, and, therefore, do not 
imitate their actual disposition or play. They are 
never posted with regard to us; they like to get 
away from our jSelders as disagreeable neighbours, 
unless their goal is attacked, when they exhibit a 
wonderful unity of defence, utterly regardless of all 
previous arrangement — parallel with the bunching 
game at the goal of the opponent. 

A few general rules, and we have done with 
^'Fielding." 

1. Do not leave men unchecked — especially near 
your goal. 

2. Always warn your men who straggle. 

3. Two checkers should scarcely ever tackle one 
dodger. 

4. Two opponents tacking should be checked by 
two men. 

5. Do not form knots either in defence or attack. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



GOAL-KEEPING. 



No moment in the game of Lacrosse is of more 
intense and nervous interest, than the critical 
junctures of attack and defence at the goals. The 
fate of every game culminates at one or the other. 
No score can be made by any other play than that 
which puts the ball in, and then the score is not 
individual but collective. 

The moment the ball is thrown to goal — with no 
chance of interception until it gets there, — the whole 
fortune and stake concentrates in responsibility on 
the individual skill of its keeper, irrespective of all 
play that preceded it. Nothing antecedent to the 
straight throw or tip, which is to win the game or be 
stopped, can in the least avert the danger. There 
are many chances of retrieving a mistake on the 
field, before it becomes critically dangerous, but 



GOAL-KEEPING. 213 

if goal-keeper misjudges a shot, or fails to stop a 
ball, at least one game is irretrievably lost. Let 
the ball through, and you may rest on your crosse, 
while your antagonists throw their sticks in the 
air, and " hurrah ! " and your side look glum and 
blue. Point may be Point to perfection ; Centre 
may be all that could be wished, and your fielders swift 
as the antelope, but of what avail, if you fail ? Brave 
defence cannot compensate for loss of victory. 
What matters it, comparatively, if the ball passes 
any other player ; nothing is really lost ? Who 
blames a fielder if he evades swift balls ? — but who 
forgives the goal-keeper? 

The single responsibility is the principal reason, 
why so few players select the goal in preference 
to any other position. 

It is a common error to suppose that the Indians 
never had special men at the goals. Where the 
single pole was used there was no necessity for 
a special defender ; but wherever the present goal 
was in use, one or more men were placed at the 
flags, or conveniently near. Proximity to the 
goal was governed by the size of the ground, the 
number of players, and the face of the game. 



214 GOAL-KEEPING. 

On fields of a quarter or half a mile, it was left 
comparatively unprotected, unless the game was 
pressing hard towards it ; but on moderate sized 
fields it was common to have special men posted, 
unless the number of players was unusually smalL 
Basil Hall, writing of the Creeks of Alabama, and 
of a game he saw in a field 200 yards long, fifty 
players on a side, says, " I observed that each of 
the goals or wickets, formed by the two boughs at 
the ends, was guarded by a couple of the most 
expert players, whose duty it was to prevent the 
ball passing through the opening ; — the especial 
object of their antagonists." 

An observer, looking at our game, easily signals 
out the special man who defends the flags, because 
the goal-keeper is nearly always at his post ; but it 
is quite probable that the specialty in the original 
game, may not have been noticed as particularly 
by others as it was by Hall; as the Indian game 
was more individual, and every man on the field 
was ambitious of carrying the ball to the goal. 
The original goal-keeper did not fear long shots, 
or sudden sallies, as the play had little system 
after it began, and the only principle of every 



GOAL-KEEPING. 215 

man was to follow the ball, and concentrate entire 
interest upon himself by a carry. We have, 
however, positive testimony, that special men at 
the goals was the rule whenever the present kind 
were used, and we know it is still the rule 
among the Indian players of Canada, though they 
have often told us to the contrary, and advised 
us not to train one. We rather fancy they would 
approve of not training special men for goal, for 
good goal-keeping has so often baulked their best 
shots, and defeated even four and five of them,, 
tipping and swiping at the flags. Who doubts 
whether the splendid Indian goal-keeper at the 
Montreal matches on Dominion Days, 1867 and 
1868, was goal-keeper by chance or selection? 
And why does each succeeding year develop better 
red-skin goal defence ? Simply, because one indi- 
vidual man trains for the post. 

However, it is not what the Indians did or do 
among themselves ; the question is, does our game 
necessitate special men at the flags ? We have 
seen that wherever the present goal was used, 
the Indians had certain men at or in proximity 
to each winning point, and the reason why our 



216 GOAL-KEEPING. 

game absolutely needs trained goal-keepers, may be 
summed up in a few words. The small fields to 
which we are predestinated in towns and cities, — 
even on this continent of great lands, — and the 
change from carrying, to a game of accurate throwing 
from all positions and distances, which makes the 
goal a target for good shots, might be sufficient 
reason; and when we consider the importance of 
that open space being well protected when the 
ball is thrown to it; that it is only six feet high 
and wide ; that the ball is only nine inches in 
circumference, and that the objects of posting the 
men would be greatly frustrated if there was no 
one specially charged with defence of the flags, 
you will, doubtless, see the necessity for a trained 
goal-keeper. It is diSicult to write in this con- 
nection without writing of ourself, but not egotis- 
tically, we hope. Eight or nine years ago, when 
we defended the goal of our Club, the matches 
for the championship were emphatically games of 
defence on our part. We used to keep a score of 
the balls stopped during a match, and at one, in 
1860, our crosse saved game fifteen times in a 
little over an hour, as is chronicled on the stick we 



GOAL-KEEPING. 217 

then used, — peace to its cat-gut! At several 
matches succeeding, when goal was crowded by- 
opponents, or swift shots came at the flags, within 
a distance of twelve feet, no one would deny the 
necessity of accustoming a special man to guard 
that portal ? 

A trained man at goal strengthens the confidence 
of the men out on the field, as infantry supports 
do the confidence of cavalry. A single long 
throw from the centre of the field, alters in a 
twinkling the face of the game, and may give 
an advantage to the home men, which no speed of 
leg can prevent before a strong attack is made. 
The art of stopping a home man's shot or tip, is 
entirely different from any other play, and needs 
special practice as well as dodging or checking. 

You may sometimes hear men who are good 
hand-ball catchers say " Oh ! anybody can keep 
goal ; I could catch any ball you throw, with my 
handP Let us tell you a personal reminiscence, 
which may serve as a warning to such ambition. 
A friend several years ago made just such a remark 
to us, and consented to try the experiment. The 
flags were placed only four feet apart : the first 



218 GOAL-KEEPING. 

few shots were as slow as could be thrown, and 
were caught, of course. We then moved off to 
about thirty feet from the flags, and placing the 
ball on the lower angle, let fly straight at the 
mark. Our friend's hands did not stop it, but his 
stomach did. Closing up to about twenty feet, we 
threw a moderately swift ball, which struck the 
ground a few feet in front of notre ami, and 
suddenly bouncing up, hit him under the chin 
with such force as to make him yell with pain. 
We never knew a better hand-ball catcher than the 
above experimenter, but he is now thoroughly 
convinced, that hand-ball catching and goal-keeping 
are two very different arts. 

Many crack players dread the responsibilities 
and dangers of goal-keeping. We have seen veteran 
fielders shrink up like the mimosa sensitiva at the 
very approach of a swift ball, which a trained 
goal-keeper would no more mind than a pea. A 
man may even stop balls well enough out on the 
field, but put him at goal, and confidence gives way 
to trepidation. Not only does he find himself a 
target within a limit for the swiftest of shots ; but 
dreads the responsibility at his back, the fear of 



GOAL-KEEPING. 219 

making slips, and the nervous anticipation when- 
ever the ball is shooting within his vicinity. 

It is rarely you meet with players magnanimous 
enough to throw at goal in the way you would 
prefer, or a little slower than you would suggest. 
They may put the greatest amount of brute force 
into their most violent throw, and you must not 
budge or move a hair of your eye lashes. Have 
you ever had an opponent, noted for hard throwing, 
pick his ground ten feet from you, and send the 
ball whizzing from the lower angle down the 
netting straight at your face ? And has it not 
felt pleasant when it smashed through your crosse, 
raising a half of a duck-egg on your forehead, and 
giving you an imaginative demonstration of sidereal 
astronomy, commonly called "seeing stars"? But 
that's no odds, if you save game for your side in 
a match. School boys should never cry when 
flogged, and goal-keepers should never flinch when 
hit. 

The first virtue of a goal-keeper is to forget 
that he has nerves, and simply accustom himself 
to stopping balls, high or low, swift or slow, 
because they have no business to pass him. 



220 GOAL-KEEPING. 

There are qualifications required of a goal-keeper 
in an eminent degree, which, owing to the single- 
ness of his responsibihty, are as imperative as a 
strongly woven crosse. If it does not need courage 
to stand at the flags, and fear no pace of a ball, which 
would kill a dog if it struck it, tell us what does? 
What needs more undivided attention, more prompt- 
ness, self-reliance and coolness, than when your 
goal is crowded by four or five red skins, and your 
own men in a desperate attack and defence ? Who 
would change positions with you under such cir- 
cumstances ? If the several men in front of you 
cannot prevent a shot or tip to goal under such 
circumstances, how, unerringly certain must be your 
defence. Not only do you lose the game for your 
side if you let the ball through, but your reputation, 
and peace of mind. Any other man may pass 
muster, but you are a sinner. And bright and soft 
eyes do not look at you graciously any more — a 
serious trouble, everybody knows, to young fellows 
unwed. 

But let us smooth the way for your defence of 
goal. We like to go to the flags with shoes on 
instead of moccasins, and, if throwing at goal from 



GOAL-KEEPING. 221 

short distances is to become the rule, we intend to 
wear leg-guards, as in Cricket, for why should we 
needlessly expose our shins to fracture. Our 
principal reason, however, for wearing leg-guards 
will be hereafter seen. Both hands may be gloved^ 
but a glove on the left, padded on top, is sufficient.. 
Our crosse, for goal-keeping, is of light, limber ash^ 
and the cat-gut netted with twisted clock-gut strings, 
doubled. The lower angle needs double strings to 
the end. Every goal-keeper should have a foot- 
measure marked on his crosse, from the butt 
upwards, with which to regulate the height of the 
flag-poles. The flag-pole is a measure for the width 
of the flags apart, and the distance of the crease^ 
but the crosse measure is more convenient. First, 
make these measurements, and correct them by 
permission of the umpires. Then study the 
ground around your goal ; observe any ridge or 
depression within twelve feet, at which the ball 
might hop. The flags have no orthodox position 
like wickets. If better ground can be had to post 
the flags, ask permission of your captain. Tramp 
down lumps and make the ground as level and 
smooth as possible. If the wind is blowing strong, 



222 GOAL-KEEPING. 

slip elastic bands over the flags, so that they will 
not interfere with your sight and crosse. If the 
sun is in your eyes, the more pity for you, and luck 
for your opponents ; but have a moveable peak to 
your cap, which can be regulated and extended as 
you prefer. 

We always turn our face to goal and draw three 
lines with our crosse, — one from each flag-pole, and 
one from the centre, out about seven feet in front, so 
that when our back is to the flags we may be guided 
by these lines, without having to glance behind, as 
to the exact middle. Some years ago we lost a game 
by misjudging our position, as we stood a few feet 
from the line parallel with the flag-poles. Originally 
we played with the poles seven feet apart, but the 
average perfection of throwing became so increased 
that it was thought fair to goal-keepers to narrow it to 
six. Goal-keeping, therefore, is a shade less difficult, 
especially in crowded contests, than in the olden time. 

Be particular about your crosse. Do not use 
hickory ; if you find it too heavy. Get the very 
best clock-gut, and sacrifice looks to strength. 

At the match before H. R. H. the Prince of 
Wales, the whites had two goal-keepers, and the 



GOAL-KEEPING. 223 

result was imperfect harmony of action. If the ball 
was as large as a football two men might work 
together, but with a Lacrosse ball, never. One 
trained goal-keeper is all that is required ; more only 
obstruct and weaken the field. It is like having two 
batsmen before the wicket, or two wicket-keepers 
behind them. If you find it necessary to act on the 
defensive, strengthen the links out from goal, but 
avoid crowding and confusing your keeper. 

Position, — Stand about the centre of goal, two 
feet out. If the ball is nearing you stand about half 
a foot forward, and never get immediately between 
the flags. The advantage of being a foot or two out 
will soon be demonstrated if you have much experi- 
ence at goal. For instance, a grounder may be par- 
tially stopped, but, by a slip, pass you ; if you are 
between the flags the game is lost, but, if a foot or 
two in front, you may catch it, as we have fre- 
quently done, before it reaches the losing line. 

When the attack is towards your flags always have 
both hands on your crosse, right hand at the butt, 
left above the collar ; the side with which you 
play facing the front. The left foot may be a 
little in advance of the right if you know how to 



224 GOAL-KEEPING. 

use your feet in goal keeping, but, if not, keep 
your heels together. If the ball is thrown from 
any distance past the goal-crease, or, if you are 
attacked by one man dodging, or Home tipping 
in the ball, keep an easy almost erect position ; 
but in close, crowded play, when the ball is 
being fought at a few feet in front, and you see it 
careering under feet and between legs, stoop down, 
or half sit on one knee, and watch it with eagle eye, 
taking a short grasp of your crosse. The former 
erect position is the usual ''Ready" for any shot, 
and is the safest position for young beginners ; but it 
may be laid down, as a rule, that when your goal is 
not crowded, it is better to stand up ; when crowded, 
better to stoop. 

Never sit or lie down at your goal when the 
game is going on. Let us relate a thorn in our 
reputation. At a match in Ottawa between our 
club and the '' Ottawa," we heard the cry of 
" lost ball " during one of the games. The players 
of both sides stood and squatted in repose for some 
minutes, and our Point said, " the ball is to be faced 
when found ! " As we had been very ill on the way 
up to Ottawa, and felt uncomfortable in our principle 



GOAL-KEEPING. 225 

organ of digestion, we ventured to take a siesta on 
the ground until the ball was found. We were 
mentally analyzing the cause and cure of stomach- 
ache, when something flew over our head, and a 
wild cheer followed. Like a shot we were up, but 
to find that one of the " Ottawas " had just jumped 
into goal over our head, with the ball on his 
crosse ; having found the lost rubber and stolen 
down behind the crowd, who were within ten feet of 
the flags, and got between our Point and goal. The 
feat was very properly declared a " fluke," and 
no game, as the ball was lost, and every one expected 
it would be faced for. We would certainly not have 
sat down had the ball not been declared lost, unless 
our side had it all their own way at the opposite 
goal ; but this reminiscence may serve to teach a 
principle to goal-keepers, and that is, to take nothing 
for granted, but always be on the qui vive until game 
is lost or won. 

The variety of guards used at goal may be 
enumerated as follows : 1st, the Cut ; 2nd, the 
Block ; 3rd, the Flat Check. 

1st. The Cut, — Is the guard by which you strike at 
coming balls of all kinds ; and is used in emergencies, 

Q 



226 GOAL-KEEPING. 

when goal is crowded, and when your object is to drive 
the ball to any particular man of your side. It 
too often degenerates into swiping ; is the safest 
guard, but severe on the netting of the crosse. 

The side of the netting with which you cut, 
depends upon the kind of ball, and the position from 
which it is thrown. Balls may be cut well with either 
side ; but it is better to take the most of those which 
come above your hips, with the opposite side to which 
you play, handle down ; all below, with the playing 
side, if they are thrown from a straight point in front. 
Balls which come swiftly at your centre, from a 
right or left angle, however, should be met by the 
side of the crosse which will bring the wood towards 
the flag pole, past which the ball is coming ; — for 
instance, if it is thrown from a point at right angles 
with the flag pole on your right, meet it with the left 
face of the netting and vice versa. The principle of 
this is, that the nearer the ball strikes to the wood 
the less likely it is to bounce off, and that you meet 
it sooner with a wider surface. A goal-keeper 
must, nevertheless, have equal confidence in either 
side of his netting. 

Cut by a half hook, catch and strike. When the 



GOAL-KEEPING. 227 

ball is just touching the netting, draw back your 
crosse quickly, which will deaden the shock and 
prevent the rebound of the ball, and in another 
motion cut it away to any point desired, or retain it 
if you have a chance to throw. This sudden retro- 
ceding motion, as if recoiling from the ball after it 
touches the netting, and then striking it away, is one 
of the most important parts of stopping. Swiping 
at a ball is both injurious to the crosse and unscien- 
tific. Study the art of cutting to right and left, 
wherever particular points may be. Under some 
circumstances, such as when one or more opponents 
stand at the goal-crease, ready to knock in a ball 
about to be thrown, you must strike at it without the 
receding movement. Prefer cutting to either side of 
goal than to the immediate front, but keep your eyes 
open and cut to the man least checked. Study to 
cut exact to any distance. 

2nd. The Block — Is the other common guard for 
all balls, especially short quick throws and tips. The 
difference between the cut and the block is the same 
as in meeting a ball with a cricket bat, to score, and 
with your hands as in hand catching. The rule in 
the former as in the cut, is for the bat to strike 



228 GOAL-KEEPING. 

the ball, not the ball the bat ; while in the latter, as 
in the block, the ball strikes the hands, not the hands 
the ball. The aim of the batsman is to score by a 
good hit; of the goal-keeper to block, so as to 
retain the ball for a throw. If you do not wish to 
retain the ball, block and cut. The receding 
movement described in preceding section is advisable. 
You may use either side of the netting, but the 
former rules, given in connection with this, apply as 
well to the block as the cut. 

If the ball slips in a block or cut, catch it up 
smartly and draw it towards the front. 

3rd. The Cover (see illustration 4) is often 
available, but requires practice and caution. In 
blocking, you may secure the ball by a quick 
cover check ; but it is principally intended for 
grounders. Always cover with the reverse side 
of the netting to which you play, and do it quick 
and close. The ball should stop about the middle 
of the netting. 

Special use of Hands, Feet and Legs. — The 
laws very justly allow the goal-keeper to touch the 
ball with his hand, while within the crease. Very 
often a slip is recovered and patted away by the 



GOAL-KEEPING. 229 

left hand, and some useful and pretty play made 
in tapping it up in the air, and keeping it out 
from the flags after it has bounced on the netting 
of the crosse. It is a common thing to cut and 
block balls with one hand as an assistant to the 
crosse. There is no license, however, given goal- 
keeper to catch and throw with the hand. 

The proper use of the feet is part of the science of 
goal-keeping. When you block a ball near the edge 
of either flag pole it is liable to slip sideways ; as 
these balls are generally stopped at arm-stretch, 
when you cannot bring to them a full face of the 
netting. The instant you block at either side spring 
to that side ; bring the nearest foot in hne with your 
crosse, toe to the stick and follow with the next foot^ 
heels in line with each other. This gives a guard 
the width of your crosse and two feet together, and 
has often, in our experience saved games. Had 
you feet like the Monosceli Indians of whom Pliny 
writes, who sheltered their whole body from the sun 
with the only foot they had, — having only one 
leg, — you would certainly be able to introduce 
some new and startling methods of goal-keeping. 

The legs, from the ankle to the hips, are sometimes 



230 GOAL-KEEPING. 

made the innocent victims of hard shots ; but, when 
stopping grounders, it is a good plan to close the legs 
together and meet the ball with them, as well as with 
the crosse. The use of one leg as an auxiliary of the 
crosse is invaluable if you do not mind knocks. 

About leg-guards. That swift balls hurt one's 
shins will be generally acknowledged without experi- 
ment, and we do not see why a goal-keeper should not 
protect his lower extremities, as well as a batsman 
before the wickets. The Indians never throw hard 
at goal when playing among themselves, but the pale- 
face substitutes swift shots for the Indian way of 
bunching and crowding. As a goal-keeper we never 
intend to complain of the swiftest and strongest balls, 
lest some might think we dreaded them ; and we do 
not. But if men will throw balls at goal hard enough 
to smash any netting that was ever made, and, some- 
times any bone that ever stood in the way, it is but 
fair that its keeper should, at least, have some leg- 
armor. But it is as much, if not more, for the sake 
of the greater confidence leg-guards give a man, and 
the better use he can make of his extremities in low 
balls. For the same reason shoes or boots are better 
for a goal-keeper than moccasins, because balls 



GOAL-KEEPING. 231 

striking the latter hurt the feet, and a man will not 
risk his toes in " toeing" a grounder if he has any- 
thing soft covering them. We know no leg-guards 
better for the purpose than those used at cricket, 
though they might be made so as to be more easily 
put off and on, in case goal-keeper wanted to make 
a good run, and had time to take them off. 

Grrounders — Always cut or block grounders which 
do not come straight, but to either side, with the 
bend of the crosse nearest the ground, as they there- 
by strike the wood, instead of the bare netting near 
the leading strings. If the bend is down it gives 
more surface for stopping. Place the crosse on the 
ground, with the tip directly up, and the whole stick, 
from the butt to the bend, is on a level: reverse 
it, tip down, and butt touching ground, and there is 
a space nearly its entire length through which the ball 
can pass. The principle is that the former brings 
the largest and safest surface to receive the ball. 

When grounders come straight in front of you, stop, 
them with the crosse perpendicular, or butt slightly 
pointing over the right arm. 

Grounders should be cut within two feet of your 
position. If cut too far from where you stand. 



232 GOAL-KEEPINO. 

the ball is liable to slip ; if too near, the object of the 
cut is not as easily attained. The block should be 
done within half a foot ; the cover, when the ball is- 
about a crosse's length. In the two former, keep 
the handle advanced to prevent the rise of the balL 
If a grounder is coming slow, and the chances are 
safe, go out and meet it ; but this, however neces-^ 
sary, requires the utmost caution. 

Grounders may be caught when blocked, but 
never risk a catch or a block when an opponent is 
close to the crease. 

Hoppers — Are generally hard to meet, because 
they rise so unexpectedly from a short distance. 
You get absorbed in the attitude and mode for 
stopping some certain ball, when suddenly it strikes 
a ridge or lump, and ricochets into the flags quicker 
than you can recover. Hoppers generally rise at 
points between your breast and hips, and you should 
always be on your guard against them, as no ground 
is to be trusted. 

Straight halls, — If swift, keep your ground; if 
medium or slow, move out to meet them. Remember^ 
these are the most difficult to stop, in the following 
order: — 1. An inch or two above the navel; 2. 



GOAL-KEEPING. 233 

The chest ; 3. Head, or above it ; 4. The knee ; 6- 
Below the knee. 

A dead-shot, thrown on a line with the first, will 
puzzle the most of goal-keepers, because it is difficult 
to bring, quickly, any large surface of netting to that 
point. Sometimes a sudden leap upwards answers 
to do this ; sometimes, reversing the position of the 
crosse from a ground block, and dropping down on 
one knee, presenting the full surface of netting to 
the ball. Any straight ball that can be cut may be 
blocked. Balls may be struck to the ground in front^ 
and caught ; but, when caught for an intended 
throw, always go to one side, clear of the flags, 
before throwing, as it is never safe for goal-keeper to 
throw from a point immediately at the crease. A 
goal-keeper — a friend of ours — once blocked and 
caught a ball, and, being attacked by an opponent, 
ran through his own flags with it to get an opportu- 
nity to throw, and so scored a game for his antago- 
nists. Do not do that. 

Balls below the line of your hips are easier stopped 
with the side of the netting you use in play ; those 
above, with the reverse side, the crosse perpendicu- 
lar, netting up and butt down. Straight balls^ 



234 GOAL-KEEPING. 

which come at the chest, we often sweep up and 
backwards over the top of the flags if home is near. 

Ourved Balls. — Balls which come in a curve are 
very deceptive to the eye, as you cannot tell exactly 
where they will drop until they have commenced 
to descend. Get a partially side view of descending 
balls, if you can. Thes afest plan is to cut them ; 
or practice first block, and then catch if you can. 
Cutting is the surest. You are liable to misjudge 
the time in blocking. The position at which you 
receive the ball i« important ; that is, it is safer to be 
too far behind it than too far in front. 

Angle Shots. — Shots which are thrown from a 
right or left angle with the flag poles are very 
puzzling. We find the safest way to stop them is 
to stand on a line, or a little outside of the flag-pole 
nearest to the thrower, and meet them as if the 
goal was immediately behind. In this position 
you stand with one side to goal. 

Tips and Kicks — Win many games. After you 
have cut a ball, it not unusually happens that it 
is tipped or kicked back by one or more opponents 
near ; especially when goal is crowded. The great 
quickness in stopping these balls can only be 



GOAL-KEEPING. 235 

acquired by practice, until it becomes a habit to meet 
them as if by instinct. It is quite a different kind 
of goal-keeping from a clear throw. 

Sweeps, — Are the most dangerous and difficult to 
stop ; and differ from swipes by being more short and 
quick. A swipe is a regular strike, as in shinty ; 
but a sweep is when a thrown ball is caught on 
the wing by "- Home " for instance, and driven 
into the goal. Such shots are very deceptive, as 
they break the line of vision between the eye and 
the original throw, and oblige it to catch up a new 
line at a very difficult pace and distance. The 
rule is to watch the coming ball, and if it is 
evident that " home " will sweep, concentrate 
attention on him just before the ball reaches him. 

In all methods of stopping, bring the largest 
surface of netting to the ball ; never pin your 
faith to the lower angle. 

In grounders or straight balls, it is easier to 
stop those to the left than to right, because you 
have more command of your crosse to the left, if you 
hold your right hand at the butt, as nearly every 
player holds his stick. If you hold it by the left 
hand on the butt, the rule is reversed. 



236 GOAL-KEEPING. 

We keep in the centre line of goal, and when 
we know just about where a ball will come, we 
mentally say "right" or ''left," "high" or 
" low," as they are to be stopped, and accommodate 
our position accordingly. 

Dodging into Groal. — If your defence aids let an 
opponent get between them and the goal, look out 
for a dodge. If your opponent charges at you 
headlong, stand about a foot from the centre of goal, 
at the " ready " ; watch the ball on his crosse 
attentively, and if he throws make a quick hard cut 
or block, and bring your body square, to prevent 
him passing you, if you can. If you see he is 
attempting a fair dodge, and not bearing down 
upon you like a hussar upon a foot soldier, follow 
the same rules, minus the body check. Generally 
a dodger throws into goal under the line of your 
stomach. At the "ready," you have your crosse 
in the best position of preparation for any low ball, 
or ordinary check. 

If your opponent attempts the throw and strike 
described on page 115, you may wait for the ball, if 
it is struck from beyond nine or ten feet, as the 
probabilities are that by running out you might 



GOAL-KEEPING. 237 

miss. If it is about to be struck from a nearer 
position, spring at your opponent, hit his crosse as it 
is striking at the ball, and either hit it, or kick it 
away with your foot when it falls. Practice in 
stopping these balls is essentially necessary. 

Long^ Medium and Short Throws,—Long throws 
are the easiest to stop ; medium are more deceptive ; 
short, bring out the science of goal-keeping. Mis- 
calculation of any throw is liable, where strict 
attention is not given to the ball before it reaches 
the flags. The longer you can keep your eyes 
upon it, from the instant it leaves the thrower's 
crosse, the better will be your calculation. The 
diflSculty of short throws, is that you have so little 
time to catch the line in which they are coming. 

Swift and Slow Shots. — Allowing for the extra 
weight of a cricket ball, the danger of stopping a 
short swift lacrosse ball, thrown from the lower angle 
of the netting is greater. 

It is a mistake to suppose that swift shots are 
harder to stop than slow. They make a young goal- 
keeper anticipate injury, and nervous, but when 
accustomed to the habit of stopping he fears no pace. 
We have always found slow balls more puzzling and 



238 GOAL-KEEPING. 

more likely to be missed than swift. The Indians 
generally win by slow close shots, and curved 
balls dropped upon the flags. A swift straight 
throw is easier to stop as a rule, because you can 
calculate upon its course better than a moderately 
slow. The effect of swift balls is increased by their 
liability of breaking the netting of your crosse, 
and exciting the terror of maiming. 

Bunching Grame. — It is the highest art of goal- 
guarding to contest successfully against a bunch of 
opponents, especially if they be frantic Indians 
fighting your men for the ball. Stoop down low, and 
keep your eye on the ball. No opponent has a right . 
to stand w^aiting for the rubber so as to impede the 
action of your crosse. The Indians used to do this, 
until their feet and legs were so unmercifully mauled 
that they gave the goal-keeper room for action. 
Do not let Point help you in a bunch : he ought to 
have enough to do without backing up parallel with 
you. A ball, tipped or thrown at the flags, should 
be stopped by only one crosse after it passes the line 
of the goal-crease ; two, or more, only interfere. 

Regulating Points,- — It would be a wise principle 
to establish, that goal-keeper, if he has the tact, 



GOAL-KEEPING. 239 

should regulate the positions of Point, Cover-point, 
and any connecting links, as wicket-keeper in cricket 
regulates the field. His quiet position enables him 
to see when men leave their places, and when oppo- 
nents manoeuvre in attack. So much ultimately 
depends upon him, that it is but fair that he should 
have some power to keep his defence aids in their 
places to prevent a sudden attack. It is quite 
common for Point and his links to get out of their 
places, and for games to be lost because they were 
too far from goal, and no one but goal-keeper can 
always see when they are too far out. A wicket- 
keeper's tact wins many a wicket, and a goal-keeper's 
can save many a hard attack at his flags. If it is 
necessary to give a man this power — even with a 
Captain — in a game like Cricket, where the points 
are comparatively stationary, how much more is it 
necessary in Lacrosse, where the shifting of one 
critical point may endanger a game ? Goal-keeper, 
however, must not lose his wits, or, by too much 
commanding, forget his principal duty. 

Difference between Batting and Groal-heeping, — It 
is a mistake to suppose a good batsman must easily 
become a good goal-keeper. No doubt he can become 



240 GOAL-KEEPING. 

SO sooner, as a rule, than a man who has not had his 
hand and eye educated by swift balls ; but there is 
a wide difference between batting and goal-keeping. 
In Cricket the batsman knows that the bowler 
aims solely at the wickets — -that to tumble the bails, 
is his object. In Lacrosse, goal-keeper has a space 
six feet high and six feet wide to defend; and, while 
one ball into the wickets only puts one man out, 
generally, one ball into goal is a lost game, invariably. 
The bat covers the wickets, and the batsman's body 
is scarcely exposed to accident, except by his own 
carelessness. The crosse and you, together, cannot 
cover the goal, and you are a target for swift shots 
that have no compunction whether they hit your 
crosse or your face. The difference of pace and 
€urve in bowling is not as puzzling as the many 
kinds of shots to goal, and the various distances from 
which they are flung and tipped. The Cricket ball 
is always delivered within the bowling-crease, and 
you always have the orthodox distance from it to 
judge ; but in goal-keeping you can neither fore- 
see the distance of the next ball, nor whether it will 
come high or low, swift or slow. We consider it 
easier to block the same paced ball, at wickets, than 



GOAL-KEEPINa. 241 

to stop it going into goal. Much of the fine science 
of batting might be introduced into goal-keeping, but 
it is risky, considering the width and height of the 
flag poles. Science in goal-keeping is not batting at 
all balls, but turning some to the right or left of the 
flags, and retaining others. 

Accidents, — If you lack courage and confidence 
you are almost sure to be injured by swift balls. 
Stop a ball determinedly and your crosse will bear 
the brunt ; shirk, and your body will probably 
sufier. 

In close conflicts around goal you are liable to 
accident from strokes of opposing crosses, especially 
when playing with Indians. They get very savage 
in such tussles. At an Indian match we got a 
stroke and a drag on the back of the left hand 
from an Indian's crosse, which opened a slit of an 
inch and a half in length, through which was afforded 
to the lover of anatomy a charming prospect of the 
articulation of the knuckles. 

Getting yourself dissected to save a game is not a 

pleasant thing to look forward to, but, if you save the 

honor of your side, never mind a wound. You are 

not to invite it, but you must risk it. It is a very 

R 



242 GOAL-KEEPING. 

rare thing, however, to hear of any very severe 
accident in Lacrosse. 

Should goal-keeper ever leave Ms place ? — As a 
rule, if there is only one reliable goal-keeper in a 
match, he should not exchange permanently with 
another player ; but there are occasions in nearly 
every match when games are saved and danger 
averted by a reasonable desertion. It would be 
folly to pass the goal crease if the game narrows to 
a bunching attack: in such a case, whether your 
opponents are unskilful players or not, you should 
keep your post. 

If an opponent has a clear field, and makes an 
unchecked charge at you, what should you do ? Run 
out to meet him ? — as ten times in twelve you'll 
be advised. No, decidedly not; even though you 
are confessedly the best check on the field. The 
folly of going out to meet such an emergency is 
clear. If your opponent knows anything about 
dodging, he will throw over your head, or pass you 
by some carried dodge, and make a dash at the 
flags ; or he may dart to one side, and make a clean 
straight or curved shot, which when you turn to 
follow, you'll see entering the goal ! Even if he is a 



GOAL-KEEPING. 243 

poor player, he may throw the ball over your head 
into the goal before you reach him. The proba- 
bilities too, are, that you are not as good at checking 
as at goal-keeping, and it is best to choose the least 
of two evils and receive your opponent at your flags 
as advised. We have lost several games by running 
out to meet an opponent in such a case, and only 
saved one. Now we always stick to our post, and 
trust to skill. 

If the hall is thrown towards goal^ and lands mid- 
way between an opponent and you. — You may if 
good at a dash, run out, and flat check or tip away 
if opponent is close. But never try experiments or 
run any risk, especially in a match. Sometimes too, 
the ball drops behind your flags, or in some spot near, 
which you can reach soonest. In such a case you' 
should save your aids, and run out. Your quiet 
position walking the goal-crease keeps you compara- 
tively fresh and winded for such dashes, and you 
have, too, the advantage of proximity to the ball, 
which imperatively demands that you should run out 
to get it. But never challenge or accept a tussel with 
any opponent. Point, of course, should go into goal 
when you leave, unless he has opportunity to move 



244 GOAL-KEEPING. 

to a good position to receive the ball from you. 
There are a few other general principles which may 
guide you in every case. Be within the goal-crease 
whenever the ball is thrown at the flags. If " Home " 
is so near that he might check your block, prefer 
to let balls pass which shoot wide of the flag poles. 
Do not attempt a run down the field if the game 
has been, and is likely to be hard against you. It 
is not safe to venture past Point's position if he is 
the only man to replace you, unless your men are 
having it their own way. If there is no reliable man 
to relieve you in a match, better keep your position ; 
but while that is, emphatically, defender of the goal, 
you should occasionally relieve some over-taxed player, 
when you judge it to be safe, — who can either replace 
you or change places with an easier post. There is 
a sort of duality in the duties of a goal-keeper, which 
depends for its exercise upon his own judgment. 

There are many puzzling occasions which test the 
worth of a goal-keeper. For instance : — the close 
throw and strike of an opponent who has reached 
your flags ; the sweeping of the ball on the wing .into 
goal by " Home " ; and the quick succession of tips, 
swipes, and kicks of a crowd of checks. The most 



GOAL-KEEPING. 245 

critical point we know of, is a practice common 
among the Indians. One man will carry the ball, or 
it will be tacked up near to goal, while " Home " 
closes in, and a fielder goes behind your flags when 
you are absorbed in watching the manoeuvres in 
front. In an instant a curved ball is thrown over the 
flags to the fielder behind ; he catches it, throws it 
back, dropping it just within the goal-crease, the 
opponents near closing up in the meantime, and 
hitting the ball, when it is within reach, into your 
flags. Or perhaps the opponent in rear of your goal, 
surprises you by closing in and sending a grounder 
through — which is not game, of course, — which 
" Home " tries to strike back. It is hardly possible 
that such a crisis can arrive and find you without 
your aids to check ; but it is a breathless moment 
that needs courage and self-possession. 

A fielder should be close enough to assist in front, 
and to check any opponent in rear of the flags. 
Goal-keeper should keep the whole situation in 
his eye ; and never lose sight of the ball. Check 
rear throws the same as if in front, and if they 
go through or over to the front, wheel round to 
the defence. Depend altogether upon "cutting" 



246 GOAL-KEEPING. 

when your goal is crowded. Have no trepidation 
about cutting emphatically, despite the proximity of 
opponents. We never considered a deliberate 
blockade and ram deserving of fairer play than we 
got. If opponents choose to impede the freedom of 
your crossse in cutting, let them take the consequences 
as on the field. They generally give the goal-keeper 
short swift shots : the keeper consequently should 
stop balls regardless of opponents near. You cannot 
afford to be generous, and risk defeat. 

When balls are thrown from either angle, leave 
as little of your goal exposed as possible. If 
" Home " closes in, he may strike away your 
crosse as you stop the ball. Whenever you are likely 
to be checked, invariably "cut." 

Always have both hands on the crosse when 
stopping any ball. 

Special Practice, — If a club expects to have a 
reliable goal-keeper, it must give him special 
practical training, which he cannot get by the 
usual play on the field, or the little practice of 
ordinary games. 

The very best, and equally good for all parties, is 
to place the flags in the centre of the field, to 



GOAL-KEEPING. 



247 



radiate players from them, at different distances, — as 

seen in the following diagram, — with three or four 

balls, and give it to goal-keeper hot and heavy. 

Begin by long shots, closing into the goal gradually^ 

until one ball will be sufficient to keep up a 

succession of tips and throws, that will make a 

goal-keeper active on his pins. We have found 

an hour's such practice more benefit than a month's 

ordinary play. Goal-keeper turns around and 

changes position rapidly to meet front and rear balls. 

They should be thrown from every angle and 

with difiierent degrees of force. Whenever he stops 

the ball, he throws it to either front or rear. The 

throwers take their turn, if they have only one 

ball. 

4 2 



G.K. 
BAD 

C E 

The ball should be thrown in every possible 
way. It is excellent practice to have one or two 



248 GOAL-KEEPING. 

good throwers aim in succession at the following 
points of your body, or on a level with them. 

1. Head, or about it. 2. Breast. 

3. Stomach. 4. Knee. 

5. Ankle. 

A word, to players, about taunting or carping a 
goal-keeper, when he happens to let the ball in. 
Consider the number of balls missed out in the field, 
where there is no great responsibility to make 
one nervous about stopping them. Consider the 
entirety of this responsibility upon the keeper, 
and the common reluctance to assume it. Put 
yourself in his place for one match, and trust me 
your depreciation will vanish. We doubt if any one 
can take a defeat more to heart than the goal-keeper 
who lets the ball through. No bitterer pill can 
he swallow. Sooner would he be maimed and 
smashed if he could thereby save game. Whose 
crest falls most when the men come off a lost field ? 
Who, metaphorically, wears most willow ? 

We knew a goal-keeper, whose crosse never 
stood hard balls. Finally, in desperation, he wove 
himself one ; doubly twisted the strings and in- 



GOAL-KEEPING. 249 

terwove them with wire ! It was far too heavy and 
failed completely ; and was broken by him, under 
foot, in anguish, after the loss of two games 
in succession at a match. 

A word to goal-keeper. You must make up your 
mind, to endure reproaches patiently, and defeat 
bravely. Study to succeed ; and, believe us, 
goal-keeping is a post worthy of practice, and 
infinitely more responsible in a hard-pressed match 
than all others. When the ball is sent whizzing 
outside of the goal, and your opponents shout 
" game," when it is not game, we hope you will not 
feel as vexed as we do. It jars on our nerves 
like a false check to an old chess-player. 

We have often let balls through and failed to prac- 
tice what we preach ; but we feel that if we had our 
goal-keeping life to live over again, we would insist 
upon special practice ; and with a month's such train- 
ing, we believe we would defy anyone to put the ball 
in. Of late, however, there has been encouragement 
shown to dangerous throws at goal, such as the throw 
from the shoulder ; and notwithstanding that these 
methods of play have caused accidents, and have 
made several good players give up playing altogether, 



260 GOAL-KEEPING. 

they are still in vogue. No goal-keeper can possibly 
count upon safely stopping them ; and if they are 
not prohibited, in course of time there will be few 
goal-keepers without smashed faces, and Lacrosse 
will surely degenerate. 

We feel we cannot better bring this book to an 
end, than by beseeching players not to cultivate 
rough and dangerous methods of play, merely be- 
cause they are successful. If it is unfair and wrong 
in Cricket and other sports, why not in Lacrosse ? — 
and where is the honor of taking advantage of little 
imperfections in the laws, and resorting to force, 
instead of cultivating accuracy and skill. Particu- 
larly at goal, a man wants to be shown fair play, 
or no good man will occupy that position. If you 
expect goal-keeper to restrain his desire to go out 
on the field, and lose the pleasures of a run, give 
him fair play in his own position. With a spirit of 
this kind, and an earnest desire to popularize fair 
play, in every part, our national game can never 
die ; and the boast of an enthusiastic friend of ours 
will be fulfilled, — that one day " the sun will never 
set on our flags ! " 



APPENDIX. 



LAWS OF LACROSSE. 



Bevised and Adopted Sept. 2Sth and 26tJiy 1868, hy the 
Natio7ial Lacrosse Association of Canada. 



RULE I.— The Crosse. 

Sec. 1.— The Crosse may be of any length to suit the player ; 
woven with cat-gut, which must not be bagged. (" Cat-gut'^ 
is intended to mean raw hide, gut or clock strings, not cord 
or soft leather.) The netting must be flat when the ball is not 
on it. In its widest part the crosse shall not exceed one foot. 
IsTo string must be brought through any hole at the side of the 
tip of the turn. A leading string, resting upon the top of the 
stick, may be used, but must not be fastened, so as to form a 
pocket, lower down the stick than to the end of the length 
strings. The length strings must be woven to within two 
inches of their termination, so that the ball cannot catch in 
the meshes. 

Sec. 2. — Players may change their crosse during a match. 

RULE. II.— The Ball. 

The Ball must be India rubber sponge, not less than eight 
and not more than nine inches in circumference. In matches, 
it must be furnished by the challenged party. 



252 APPENDIX. 

RULE III.— The Goals. 

The Goals may be placed at any distance from each other, 
and in any position agreeable to the captains of both sides. 
The top of the flag-poles must be six feet above the ground, 
including any top ornament, and six feet apart. In matches 
they must be furnished by the challenged party. 

RULE IV.— The Goal-Ceease. 
There shall be a line or crease, to be called the Goal-Crease, 
drawn in front of each goal, six feet from the flag-poles, within 
which no opponent must stand unless the ball has passed 
cover-point. 

RULE v.— Umpiees. 

Sec. 1. — There must be two umpires at each goal, one for 
each side, who must stand behind the flags when the ball is 
near or nearing the goal. Unless otherwise agreed upon by 
the captains, they must not be members of either club engaged 
in a match ; nor shall they be changed during a match except 
for reasons of illness or injury. They must be thoroughly 
acquainted with the game, and in every way competent to 
act. Before a match begins, they shall draw the players up in 
line, and see that the regulations respecting the crosse, spiked 
soles, &c., are complied with. They must also see that the 
regulations are adhered to respecting the ball, goal, goal- 
crease, (fee, and, in deciding any of these points, shall take the 
opinion of the captains and the referee. They must know, 
before the commencement of a match, the number of games to 
be played. They shall have power to decide all disputes, 
subject to Rule YI., and to suspend, for any time during the 
match, any player infringing these laws ; the game to go on 
during such suspension. 

Sec. 2. — ISTo umpire shall, either directly or indirectly, be 
interested in any bet upon the result of the match. ¥o person 
shall be allowed to speak to the umpires, or in any way 
distract their attention, when the ball is near or nearing their 
goal. 



APPENDIX. 253 

Sec. 3.— "When " foul" has been called, the nmpires must 
leave then* posts and cry *' time," and from that time the ball 
must not be touched by either party, nor must the players 
move from the positions in which they happen to be at the 
moment, until the umpires have returned to their posts, and 
" play" is called. If a player should be in possession of the 
ball when the umpires leave their posts, he must drop it on 
the ground in front. If the ball enters the goal after the 
umpires have left their posts, it will not count. The jurisdic- 
tion of umpires shall not extend beyond the day of their 
appointment. They shall not decide in any manner involving 
the continuance of a match beyond the day on which it is 
played. 

RULE VI. — Referee. 
The umpires shall select a referee, to whom all disputed 
games and points, whereon they are a tie, may be left for 
decision, and who must be thoroughly acquainted with the 
game, and in every way competent to act. He shall take the 
evidence of the players particularly interested, the respective 
opinions of the differing umpires, and, if necessary, the 
opinions and offers of the captains, in cases where the discon- 
tinuance of the game is threatened. His decision shall be 
final. Any side rejecting his decision, by refusing to continue 
a match, shall be declared the losers. The referee must be on 
the ground at the commencement of and during the match, 
but during plav he shall not be between the two goals. 

RULE VII.— Captains. 

Captains, to superintend the play, may be appointed by each 
side, previous to the commencement of a match. They shall 
be members of the club by whom they are appoints, and of 
no other. They may or may not be players in a match : if 
not, they shall not carry a crosse, nor shall they be dressed in 
Lacrosse uniform. They shall select umpires, and toss up for 
choice of goal. They shall report any infringement of the 
laws during a match to the nearest umpires. 



254 APPENDIX. 

RULE VIII. — Names of Players. 

Thel players of each side shall be designated as follows: 
"'' Goal-keeper," who defends the goal; ''Point," first man out 
from goal ; '* Cover-point," in front of Point ; ** Centre," who 
faces ; " Home," nearest opponent's goal. Others shall be 
termed " Fielders." 



THE GAME. 

RULE IX. — Miscellaneous. 

Sec. 1. — Twelve players shall constitute a full field, and 
they must have been regular members of the club they 
represent, and no other, for at least thirty days prior to a 
match. 

Sec. 2. — A match shall be decided by the winning of three 
games out of five, unless otherwise agreed upon. 

Sec. 3. — Captains shall arrange, previous to a match, 
whether it is to be played out in one day, postponed at a 
stated hour, or in the event of rain, darkness, &c., or to be 
considered a draw under certain circumstances ; and, if 
postponed, if it is to be resumed where left ofi". 

Sec. 4. — If postponed and resumed where left ofi", there shall 
be no change of players on either side. 

Sec. 5. — Either side may claim at least five minutes' rest, 
and not more than ten, between each game. 

Sec. 6.- -No Indian must play in a match for a white club, 
unless previously agreed upon. 

Sec. 7. — After each game, the players must change sides 

Sec. 8. — No change of players must be made after a match 
has commenced, except for reasons of accident or injury 
during the match. When a match has been agreed upon, and 
one side is deficient in the number of players, their opponents 



J 



APPENDIX. 255 

may either limit their own numbers to equalize the sides, or 
compel the other aide to fill up the compliment. 

RULE X. — Spiked Soles. 
JSTo player must wear spiked soles. 

RULE XI. — Touching the Ball with the Hand. 
The ball must not be touched with the hand, save in case of 
Rules XII. and XIII. 

RULE XII.— Goal -Keeper. 

Groal-keeper, while defending goal within the goal-crease, 
may pat away with his hand or block the ball in any manner. 

RULE XIII. — Ball in an Inaccessible Place. 

Should the ball lodge in any place inaccessible to the crosse, 
it may be taken out by the hand ; and the party picking it up, 
must " face" with his nearest opponent. 

RULE XIV.— Ball Out op Bounds. 

Balls thrown out of bounds must be picked up with the 
hand, and '• laced" for at the nearest spot within the buands. 

RULE XV. — Throwing the Crosse. 
No player shall throw his crosse at a player or at the ball 
under any circumstances. 

RULE XVI. — Accidental Gtame. 
Should the ball be accidentally put through a goal by one 
of the players defending it, it is game for the side attacking 
that goal. Should it be put through a goal by any one not 
actually a player, it shall not count. 

RULE XVII. — Balls Catching in the Netting. 
Should the ball catch in the netting, the crosse must imme- 
diately be struck on the ground so as to dislodge it. 

RULE XVIII.— Rough Play, &g. 
No player shall hold another with his crosse, nor shaU he 
grasp an opponent's stick with his hands, under his arms, or 



256 APPENDIX. 

between his legs ; nor shall any player hold his opponent's 
crosse with his crosse in any way to keep him from the ball 
nntil another player reaches it. N"o player shall deliberately 
strike or trip another, nor push with the hand ; nor must any 
player jump at to shoulder an opponent, nor wrestle with the 
legs entwined so as to throw his opponent. 

RULE XIX. — Threatening to Strike. 

Any player raising his fist to strike another, shall be imme- 
diately ruled out of the match. 

RULE XX.— Foul Play. 

Sec. 1. — Any player considering himself purposely injured 
during play, must report to his captain, who must report to 
the umpires, who shall warn the player complained of. 

Sec. 2. — In the event of persistent fouling, after cautioning 
by the umpires, the latter may declare the match lost by the 
side thus offending, or may remove the offending player or 
players, and compel the side to finish the match short-handed. 

RULE XXI. — Interrupted Matches. 

In the event of a match being interrupted by darkness or to 
any other cause considered right by the umpires, and one side 
having won two games— the other none — the side having won 
the two games shall be declared winners of the match. 
Should one side have won two games, and the other one, the 
match shall be considered drawn. 

RULE XXII. — Amendments. 

Any amendment or alteration proposed to be made in any 
part of these laws, shall be made only at the Annual Conven- 
tions of the National Association, and by a three-fourths vote 
of the members present. 



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